One Week Only
by luxaurorae
Summary: Judy lied to her family about having a boyfriend, and now Nick has to play the part for a week-long visit. They'll find out things about each other that makes them grow even closer during their stay at the Burrows. Also posted on Ao3.
1. The Agreement

_**AN: This first chapter is kind of a warmup, but I hope it'll get you interested. This is my first fic, enjoy!**_

 _ **The characters you recognise are owned by Disney, not me. English is not my first language, spelling/grammar mistakes are mine. (Feel free to correct them in the comments, just please do it nicely)**_

* * *

Judy was happy. She made a mistake, but it was a small mistake. Everything will be fine. Nick was her partner after all, she was sure he'd help her out. Or would he? As she jumped on the bus she started to feel a little nervous. If things don't work out with Nick, who else could she ask? She didn't have many close friends in the city, and only a couple of males. _Oh, please, let him agree to do this._

One more stop and she was arriving at his place. She practiced a speech in her head a dozen times, and by now she felt confident with it. Her heart was beating a bit too fast, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. As she got off the bus, she took a deep breath and looked around. She's only been in this neighborhood two times, when she helped Nick with moving. It was an older part of the city, not too many modern buildings to see. It actually had quite a charm to it, with the small parks between the large blocks of apartments and the tiny shops on the ground floors. Walking by the buildings she noticed two young foxes playing around a sandbox. She wondered if Nick had any family here. Maybe he used to. Maybe that's why he was fond of this neighborhood. This wasn't the time to think about that. She had to get to her partner's apartment quickly. The door of the main building was already open, so she slid inside instead of ringing the bell. Nick lived on the very top, so it took her a couple of minutes to get up. There were only two doors on that floor. She ran to the one to her left and knocked.

"Nick! It's Judy. I need to talk to you about something" She heard a quiet groan and some creaks as he stood up and came to get the door.

"Hey, come in!" She must have woken him from a nap. His fur was fuzzy all over and he was wearing clothes that looked a lot like pyjamas. "That coffee better be mine, Carrots." he yawned.

"Actually, it is for you, and so are the cookies!" She held up the coffee and a pack full of cookies with a wide smile on her face.

"What happened? Do you need something?" he laughed and took a sip from the coffee.

Judy moved further inside and sat on the couch. The place wasn't so big, but it was cozy. The last time she was here, they were building the shelves which were now filled with books, DVDs and even pictures. She wanted to get a closer look, but decided to do that later. "I just wanted to hop by at first. You know, talk a bit, spend some quality time with my new partner-!" she raised a fist towards Nick, but instead of bumping it, the fox just raised his eyebrows and grinned. "But…now I think, I need to…ask a favor" she smiled at him hopefully. For some reason, she felt like he didn't take her seriously. He snorted and put his cup down.

"Sorry Judy, but there's not enough coffee in the world that could make me go on parking duty in your place. Again." He grinned with a playful warning look.

"No, you dumb fox!" she punched his left arm lightly. „Besides that was one occasion, you should stop whining about it!"

"Okay right, then what can I help you with?"

Judy took a deep breath. _This is it._

"So, I'm heading back to the Burrows next week, for the Summer Carrot Days, and I wanted to ask you to come along" she spoke fast. She must have seemed worried, because Nick pulled a little closer and glared at her.

"Why? Is there a problem?" Now _he_ sounded worried. He knew some of Judy's family wasn't as supportive of her career and lifestyle as she would've liked. He thought she was afraid to confront someone on her own.

"Oh, no. Everything's fine! It's just…well, I messed up something, so now I need to bring someone to this festival, and you were the first I thought of."

"I don't follow. Why do you need me to go there?" He was confused.

"It's a long story"

"I have time" His smile was toxic. It never failed to make Judy smile back.

"So, last night I met with some of my younger sisters because they were at a party at the central. And I just tagged along, tried talking with them, but by the end of the night we got into a fight…" She suddenly lost a little confidence. This was an uncomfortable topic. "They said some pretty rude things to me, even that…I can't even get a boyfriend, and that's all because of me being a loner, and, and…whatever. So, I got pretty sad. And mad –"

"Smad" he winked. He tried to joke, but he was feeling sorry for the bunny. She was always happy, and it pained him to see her feeling blue.

"Let me finish!" she giggled. Looks like the joke worked after all. "So I got angry, and tried to defend myself. And, who knows why, I told them I had a boyfriend. And I…told them I'll be bringing him to the Carrot Days next week." She covered her mouth as she finished that sentence.

There was a moment of complete silence. Nick opened his mouth, but no words came.

"What I'm saying is that I want you to-" she started, but got cut off.

"Yeah, I understand." He looked like he was thinking hard. Eyebrows pulled, lips pushed together. "Why do you let them do this to you? I thought you didn't care what others said."

"Well, that's true, but they are my family. And it hurts me a lot more when they behave like that." She paused for a moment. She really wanted to convince Nick. "Back to what I was going at… As you know, I do not have a mate. But I want to keep myself from any more embarrassment. I want to ask you to come and pretend to be my boyfriend."

"Listen Carrots, I'd love to help you, anytime, but I don't think taking a fox home would be any less embarrassing that going alone." He didn't want to be rude. That's exactly what he believed.

"That's not something I care about"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean… I don't care if they judge me for dating a fox. Which I'm not" she added quickly.

"Still, couldn't we find somebunny who could 'date' you just for a week?"

"Nick, I trust you. You're my best friend. You don't have to do anything, just act like you were my boyfriend. People think we're a couple all the time, even when we're not trying! It shouldn't be too hard! And Carrot Days are always fun. There are shows and games and much more!"

She was happy and excited again. She saw it in Nick's eyes that he was leaning towards it. He began talking with a smile.

"Well, if you really want me to be your boyfriend for a week, and maybe, get lots of free blueberries from your family's farm as a symbol of gratitude," he put his arm around her side of the couch. „you got yourself a deal."

She jumped and hugged him tight. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! You're the best friend I could wish for, Nick!"

"Alright, alright, there you go." He said, petting her gently on the back. "I'll try my best, but I can't promise they'll like the idea of me being your boyfriend"

"Come on! They might be shocked, but what do we care, it's just a hustle anyway. And they know you're my partner at the ZPD, they'll like you! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!"

* * *

 _ **AN: Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment and tell me how you liked it. Constructive criticism is always welcome. :)**_


	2. Ready?

_**Thanks for the positive feedback everyone, and special thanks to everyone who reviewed!**_

 _ **This chapter is a little longer, and less prologue-like. Nick and Judy get ready to leave.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_  
_

"I better leave," said Judy as she picked up her bag, "I don't want to be late."

"From what?"

"I'm going on a spa weekend with Fru Fru." She put her arms on her hips as her ears shot up in the air. "I've told you about it like a thousand times, don't you ever listen?" She felt offended, though she should have been used to Nick not being interested in small things like that. Clawhauser was the mammal to share these types of news with, and he was often more excited than Judy herself. She could spend her entire lunch break gossiping about pop stars and such, while Nick stood a few steps away, checking his phone and giving an occasional nod if he heard his name being mentioned.

"Oh, I do." He straightened his posture, still sitting on the couch, and leaned forward. "I just have the ability to filter the information I don't need, and your girl-talks with Ben usually consist of nothing else"

"Ha! So you do remember I've been talking about it with him!" Nick's ears twitched. Judy was mimicking his signature expression while she was standing with pride.

"I might just remember you saying something about it" he groaned with a sharp exhale.

"You know," Judy spoke more seriously, but still had a smirk on her face, "that attitude of yours can be charming at times, but I hope you plan on dropping that for the next week. I'd prefer if you weren't trying so hard to be slick"

"Ouch." He whispered with a pained expression. "Isn't your goal to show your family that you can get such a cool guy to be boyfriend?"

"No, my goal is to get out of a sticky situation. But that won't happen if you don't help me impress them. And for that you have to be well-mannered, you actually have to listen to me, and if you do, you can't act like you didn't, because being smug all the time won't-"

"You should write a list" he interrupted with a shrug.

"I might. I really should be going. Pack some stuff, meet me at my apartment on Monday!" she hopped towards the front door.

"Usual time?"

"That'll do. Bye!" she gave a smile and a wave as she exited the door. Nick only raised a paw and kept looking at the closed door for a couple of seconds.

He always met with Judy at 7:30 on working days, so they could go to work together. This habit started when Nick claimed that he needed help getting to the station during his first week, but later on they discovered that walking together while drinking their morning coffee was a good way to start a day.

Since Judy was gone for two whole days, Nick decided to spend some time with Finnick. They talked about meeting up for a night out or two on his week off, but now that had to be rescheduled. He felt like he should be annoyed, but honestly, he felt excited about the oncoming trip.

Monday morning came early. Nick had problems with packing. He usually put on whichever shirt was on top of the pile of clothes in his messy wardrobe and did the same with his pants, but never decided what to wear in advance. He grabbed his favorite printed button-up shirt and shoved it in his trunk. Since he was going to a farm, he thought maybe a flannel and blue jeans were obligatory. That's all they wear there, right? He picked two more shirts, a t-shirt with a Guns n' Rodents logo, and a hoodie, just in case. After brushing his teeth, he dropped the toothpaste and a brush still wet next to his clothes. He quickly grabbed some shampoo and other necessary things from the bathroom. The trunk was nowhere near full, so he bit his tongue and looked around for something else to pack. He finally remembered his charger and sunglasses, and he decided to bring a comic book from his collection, in case he was bored later. He picked one of the Spider Pig series and fitted it on top of his shirts. If he tilted his head and squinted, the bag looked full, so he figured it was time to go.

It took a good 30 minutes to get to Judy's block, where the bunny was already waiting for him, impatiently stomping her feet.

"Only 10 minutes late, impressive." That spa seemed to have worked miracles on Judy. Normally she could get angry over Nick being a minute late. Now she was relaxed and didn't care much about it.

"Bus was late." He dropped his luggage next to her giant one. It was a few inches short of being as tall as she was.

"Of course," she laughed. "That's all your stuff?" She gave him a questioning look as she gestured at the small package next to hers.

"Yeah, I don't need too much. What are you bringing in that monstrosity?"

"I have some extra things I don't need here, so I'm returning them. And my brother George and his wife just had their first kits a few weeks ago, so I bought gifts for the little ones."

"How many bunnies will be there?" He knew rabbit families were huge, but he never actually met one. He expected 50, maybe a 100 of them.

"Well, Mom said a few of my siblings can't make it, but I don't remember who. I know my grandparents will be there, I'm not sure about my aunts and uncles." She calculated for a minute, and Nick was starting to get worried. "Around 400, maybe 500. But that's just my family, there will be others at the Festival"

Nick's mouth fell open. "That's…uhm, nice"

"Yeah, it might seem a lot for a fox, but it's average among bunnies." She gave an awkward chuckle and hoped she didn't scare her partner too much. "So, how was your weekend?"

"Fine. We hit the casino with Finnick." He looked around and picked up his bag. "We should find a cab. Do you need help with that?"

"No thanks, it's okay." Judy exclaimed, picking up her trunk. After a few steps of struggle, Nick took it away from her and exchanged it for his own. "Nick, this is very light. Are you sure you have everything you need?"

"Uh, now I'm not so sure, but I'll manage. You had fun with Fru Fru?"

"Oh, it was amazing. I didn't expect much, but I really enjoyed it. It's nice to get away from work sometimes."

"I can't believe you said that." Judy was a true workaholic. Nick rarely saw her without her uniform, and if nothing else, she had her badge pinned on her blouse.

"Me neither. But look, I even got my tail curled!" she jumped in front of Nick and spun around so he could see.

"Oh, looks good."

She did look good. Judy was by all accounts pretty, but now she looked like a soft lady instead of a fierce officer. Her fur was shinier than ever, and Nick could have sworn he saw a liner and some shadow over her eyes. Her floral shorts and tank top only added to the girly image.

"You look pretty today," he remarked.

"Thank you. I was in the mood to dress up this morning." Judy looked away for a moment so Nick wouldn't notice the blush she felt on her cheeks. "You look handsome yourself. New jacket?"

"Oh, yeah. Last night we ended up in a shop and this vixen thought it looked good, so I spent some of the money I won," he replied casually.

"What vixen?" Judy suspected that an easy-going fox like Nick would be popular with the ladies, but she's never heard about any girl he went out with.

"Oh why, aren't you adorable! We've only been fake-dating for a few minutes and you're already jealous?" he teased.

"No, I was just interested in this girl you met, who appears to be a good influence on your fashion sense."

A taxi just pulled over. Nick opened the door for Judy, and continued the talk.

"Don't overthink it, Carrots, it was just the assistant in the shop," he chuckled and noticed the signs of annoyance on the bunny's face. "Though I have to admit, she was stunning. Maybe after we come back…" He winked.

"Oh don't start."

The driver put their bags in the trunk and got in.

"Where to?" the pig asked.

"Savanna Central Station, please" Nick replied.

Their journey to the train station wasn't too long. The radio was on, playing Gazelle's latest single, which Judy was fond of. She looked out the window and mumbled the lyrics under her breath. Nick wasn't a fan of the singer, but certainly enjoyed watching Judy being passionate about her. The concert they went to together was another big experience when he got to see the bunny outside of work. That pure happy energy of hers was breathtaking.

"10 dollars," stated the driver in a monotone voice once they arrived at the station's parking lot. Judy opened her purse, but Nick stopped her paw from reaching for the money.

"Let me," he said and gave a note to the pig. Judy was impressed, but couldn't imagine what have gotten into the fox. Whenever it was about payment, he tried to get away from it and let others handle it. They began walking to the platforms when it hit her.

"How much did you win?" she asked with a grin.

"What?"

"At the casino. How much money did you win?"

"Oh, couple thousand."

"What?! Gosh, Nick…" Judy was actually impressed. She knew Nick and Finnick were good at playing card with folks from the streets, but she never imagined them winning so much money at a well-known place such as the Palm Casino.

"Hey, can't help being a natural talent."

"Speaking of which, you're not allowed to teach gambling tricks to any of my family members," she said as she pulled a folded sheet of paper from her purse and handed it to Nick.

"What's this?" he asked, turning the paper in his paws.

"The list you asked for. Look, there's our train!" She began to walk to platform 3, where the train was to leave in 15 minutes.

"What list…?" he began, then remembered Saturday morning. "You can't be serious. And I didn't ask for it."

"I am serious. I would have told you these things anyway, but writing them down was a great idea. Thanks for suggesting!"

"I did not- , ugh"

Judy hopped on the train and quickly found a pair of empty seats at the end of the carriage. Nick followed, and with very little help he also managed to place their trunks above their seats.

"How long will it take us to get there?" he asked.

"About 2 hours. We'll have plenty of time to discuss the list."

It bothered him a lot how excited she was about this. Judy could be resourceful in an evil kind of way when she wanted to be, and Nick was often impressed by that. He just hated being the subject of these acts.

"Fine. Let's see..." he sighted as he began to read.

 _ **So, what do you think are on the list? I already have quite a few listed for myself, but if you have an idea I don't, I might include it.**_

 _ **Thanks for reading! Comments are much appreciated, please tell me your suggestions, wishes, opinions. (I'm a first-time writer, so help with technical problems would be great!)**_


	3. The List

_**Thank you xxmofo54xx,justsomejuy, bagnome, Reeval, Chaos-Wolfy, LolliNinjaPiratePop, Omnitrix 12, bubba, BeecroftA, Selaxes, Zero112, EpicGaming263, , Dirtkid123, Acestin, Secretasian, 864, .SP, G3arboxx, Moriah and a guest for reviewing, and thanks for all the follows/favourites!**_

 _ **Sorry if the update is a little late, but I didn't have much time to work on it.**_

 _ **In this chapter Judy and Nick discuss the list, what to expect from her family, and arrive at the Bunny Burrow station. Enjoy!**_

* * *

" _'Be a gentleman'_. I always am," he sighed quickly and already opened his mouth to continue reading when he got cut off by a cough. "What?" He looked up, genuinely confused.

"I just wouldn't use the word always," she confessed with a gap between each word.

"Come on, I really am a gentleman. I hold the doors, pull out chairs, all that stuff." He felt like he didn't justify himself, so he decided to continue with examples. "Just this morning, I gave my seat to this old lady and, and I helped you with your bag, and…ugh…Oh! I also complemented you! Would anyone do that if not a gentleman?"

"Actually, yes," she saw a slight pained look in Nick's eyes so she quickly added, "You do act like a gentleman a lot, but I noticed it's mostly for me, and I really appreciate that but I think you should extend it towards others." She calmed down when she noticed her partner's agreeing nod. "So, what I want you to do, is to be well-mannered around everybody, especially my parents. I don't want them to think less of my best friend just because he's not like the other boys my sisters brought home"

"Why, what are those like?"

"Stuck up snobs, if you ask me. Mostly from other richer farmer families. You can't imagine how boring they can be." She hadn't been able to talk about this issue with anybody in a long time. Very few of her siblings were on the same opinion about farming life, and she haven't seen them in months.

"Sounds like I won't be making new friends," he shrugged. He didn't exactly plan though, but he looked forward to talking with some new mammals who probably wouldn't judge him, being an officer and Judy's boyfriend.

"Don't be so sure. You might just get along with some of my family. I'm not the only bunny breaking traditions." She gave him a wide, encouraging smile.

"Right. Let's move on." He looked back to the list in his left paw as the train slowly began to move. " _'No sarcastic comments'_?! Why would you do that to me?" he asked with a high voice, that made Judy chuckle.

"That's a part of being well-mannered."

"Come on, not even little ones?"

Judy tilted her head. The fox actually sounded like he was begging.

"Not even little ones."

"Okay, listen to this," he bit his lip and gestured with his paws before raising his index fingers, "How about tiny little sarcastic comments, and I'll make them sound serious. And if someone still catches me with it, I'll confuse them to the point where they won't even remember what I said. Huh?" He leaned in and raised his eyebrows, suggesting that this was a great idea.

"No," said Judy with the driest voice and expression she could make.

"Fine, I'll try," he sighed, "No promise," he added in an inaudible mumble. " _'Don't call me Carrots in public'_. Oh. I thought you liked it," he faked swiping a tear and shook his head.

"I came to terms with you using it, I never liked it. Besides, it's actually kind of offensive."

"How so?"

"Gee, it's simply rude to associate bunnies with carrots. How would you feel if I called you-, uhm, what is a distinctive food foxes eat?" Her ears fell down slowly. She raised a paw to her chin and began thinking hard. Nick liked berries a lot, but that's not something she could say to describe any fox. And for what she knew, all carnivores ate the same bugs and fish.

"Probably rabbits, back in the days. But that's illegal now."

Judy shot an irritated look at him.

"Oh come on, you know you love me," he teased, waiting for a response that never came.

"I can't believe I can't think of an embarrassing nickname for you," she twitched her nose and sat with crossed arms.

"Hey, 'Carrots' is not even that embarrassing. It sounds good at least. Just think about it, I could call you cabbage or something.

Judy's ears shot in the air once again and at the same time Nick's eyes started shining.

"No-," she began.

"Don't worry, I won't call you vegetable names," he laughed. He knew this idea will be useful later, in case he wanted to mess a little with the bunny.

"Nice of you. Next point." She gazed over to the paper.

 _" 'No inappropriate jokes'_. Why would I even tell any?" He was clearly thinking about the worst thing Judy could've meant under 'inappropriate'. It was true, that Nick would rarely joke about that, and even then only with Finnick. He slowly rolled his eyes. "You rabbits, only thinking about-"

"Look at the one below," she cut him off, keeping a straight face.

The next point said _'Especially no bunny jokes (!)'_. Judy had to admit, some bunny jokes were funny. But not for her family. Not coming from a fox.

"Oh okay, got it." Nick gave her a thumbs up, glance fixed on the list. " _'No tall tales about yourself'_?" He paused and had a quick silent communication with Judy. It consisted of single shakes of his head followed by single nods of hers, when he finally scratched the back of his neck and said, "Right, that's a fair point."

The train reached the first stop. Only three more to go.

"So, um… _'Don't cheat at the games'_. Wow, you know, _that's_ offensive."

"No it's not. I just know that you're not ashamed to do anything to win a game."

"Still," he coughed after a short pause, "I can't make bunny jokes, but you can assume I would want to cheat?"

"Nick, don't start this. I didn't mean it like that. I just don't want your con-artist self to show too much."

"Okay, okay. What kind of games will be there, anyway?"

"It's something new every year. Although there are always races, those stands where you have to shoot something, it's really like a carnival."

"How could I even cheat at those?" He was confused. He couldn't think of any way of cheating in a race.

Judy didn't want to state the obvious, in fear of Nick getting offended. He teased her a lot about being emotional, when he was no better. In fact, she thought that out of the two of them, he was the more sensitive one. She just smirked him, hoping he would get the point she was thinking about.

"Huh, I'd probably find a way if I wanted to," he mumbled, looking back to the handwritten note. "You know that's not how you spell _'Hygiene'_ , right?" he turned the paper, putting a finger to the eighth bullet point.

"I'm not good at spelling and I wrote this in a hurry," she frowned and spoke in an annoyed voice.

"I can see that," Nick remarked under his breath. Judy's handwriting wasn't as neat and organized as everything else around her. "But what do you mean?"

"About what?"

"About hygiene. I think I'm pretty clean all the time."

"Taking a shower every other evening but spraying yourself with deodorant every morning isn't exactly what you call 'hygiene'."

"Hey, I have to save on the water bills," he tried. "So what, I have to take a shower every day?"

"At minimum. And brush your teeth, and shave, and maintain your claws."

"Sure, whatever. Moving on," he picked up the paper again, " ' _No drinking'_. I hope you mean 'don't get drunk with excess amount of alcohol' by that," he looked up from behind the list in his paws.

"Well, you could say that. But I would be happy if you didn't even get tipsy" she said in a small voice, pulling her shoulders closer to her neck.

"Oh, that's not on the list, so I'm not sure what I can do about it," he said with a smirk.

"Nick, please. Don't mess with me on this."

"Very well. You sound desperate enough," he continued on reading the list, " _'Don't tell anybody we're not a couple'_. Oh thanks for the reminder. Otherwise this would have been the first thing I did after arriving _. 'Don't play on your mobile all the time'_. I can do that. _'No flirting with others'_. Wow, that's a rule a real girlfriend would think of," he looked up at Judy and gave an appreciative nod, "But who would I flirt with anyway?"

"Don't know. Some vixen similar to the one at that shop."

"What? Aren't there only bunnies in _Bunny_ Burrow?"

"Well, in Bunny Burrow it's mostly bunnies. But in the whole Tri-Burrows there are lots of other animals. Including foxes. And the Carrot Days are for everybody living nearby."

"I didn't know that," he sounded really fascinated. He prepared himself to be the only non-rabbit there, but now he was feeling a bit of excitement.

"Really? I never told you Gideon was a fox either?"

"Pie-guy? Nope." He shook his head and popped his lips.

"Oh, he is. He has a shop near the field where the festival is, we could go and meet him one day."

"That's fine by me," he shrugged. Judy could have sworn she saw the edge of his mouth curling upwards. " _'No bad influence on my little siblings'_. That-"

"That includes the gambling tricks part."

"Yeah, I figured, and what else?"

"Not giving them advices that would make them do dangerous or stupid things. Not teaching them curse words and such. Not encouraging them to break rules for fun. Things like those."

"But when have I done that?"

"Oh gosh, let me think, maybe you remember when we were at that school, talking with kids about safety rules, and two kids started fighting and you went and cheered?"

Nick's ears fell and he gulped.

"I have to admit that was not a smart thing to do."

"That's more like it. What's next?"

" _'No fighting'_. So I can't cheer, nor take part in a fight. Got it."

They reached the next station. Two more stops until Bunny Burrows.

"I didn't mean it like that," Judy began.

"That's alright, no offence taken," Nick flicked his wrist in the air.

"No, I mean…fight, as in…argue," she flinched a little as she finished. Nick couldn't understand why she would have thought of that.

"I would never start an argument with your family."

"I know, but…they might. Some of them," she inhaled sharply, "might will be rude about…foxes. And I want you to ignore them. I don't care what they think, and I'll protect you if I can, but please just ignore them if they start picking on you."

She haven't imagined a situation like this, not even when writing the list. But now her head was filled with imaginary conversations, or more like slurs and yelling. She started breathing heavily. She hoped she didn't make a huge mistake with taking Nick to her family.

She was looking outside the window on her left when she felt Nick's paw on top of hers. He leaned all the way to the other end of the seats and looked in her eyes.

"Calm down, it's going to be okay. I can promise you that." His voice was very smooth. And unusually quiet. He was smiling, and as always, it made Judy smile too.

"Okay," she said and leaned back to face him, "I just don't want them to hurt you. I haven't really thought this through."

"Don't worry, it takes more than some rude bunnies to hurt me," he winked and looked back at the list, "Look, final rule! Wanna discuss that too?"

He already began reading when Judy mumbled a small 'Thank you' that made him look up and nod.

"Uhm, Judy? What's this last word here?" he stuck the note in her face and pointed at the last bullet point.

"Oh, 'food'," she stated.

 _"'Don't eat all the food'_?"

"Yes," her voice almost sounded like she was asking a question.

"Tell me honestly, did I put on some weight?" Judy could feel that he was still trying to cheer her up, but one thing annoyed her.

"Oh come on, can't we go over a rule without you mocking me for it?" she asked, playfully punching his arm.

"To answer that; no. Even though I'm sure we've done that already. My mistake. And back to my question; why would I eat all the food? I don't eat that much!"

"For a male fox." Judy leaned forward and continued, "Bunnies eat a lot less, being half your size and herbivores."

"Okay, but won't your parents know that? Won't there be enough food for me to eat?" He felt like he outsmarted Judy with that, and hoped they could drop the conversation.

Judy's eyes widened and her ears dropped down again. She really didn't plan this through carefully enough.

"What's the matter?" Nick asked.

"Oh."

"Oh?" Nick became suspicious in a second, and raised his eyebrows as he kept looking straight at Judy.

"Oh no," she stuttered over and over again.

Nick believed he already knew what her problem was but didn't want to say it.

"Oh no what?"

"I…ugh," she was searching for words, but it was too hard, "I…think that I…might have accidentally…uhm…"

"Judy what is it?" he asked with worry.

"I forgot…something…to…"

"Yes…?" He could feel his heart beating faster.

"To…tell my family…that…"

"Go on."

"To tell them…you're...," she took a breath, raised her head and put an uncomfortable smile over her face, "a fox."

"Sorry, you forgot what?"

"Nick, I'm sorry. But, hey, they'll like you anyway!" she said with an awkward chuckle that followed.

They didn't notice the train stopping until it started moving again.

"Next stop: Bunny Burrow," they heard from above their heads.

"Judy they will flip out. You just said 5 minutes ago; they hate foxes!"

"That's not everyone!"

"Oh lord, just imagine their faces when you introduce me as a surprise," he started to sound angry, "That just makes things worse. I thought you gave them time to cope with that fact before we arrive! Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I…I don't know, I just forgot. I can't think of everything!"

"But haven't you talked with your parents?"

"I have, but…I didn't have much time, I just told them when we'll arrive."

"And they didn't even ask about me? What about your sisters? They just accepted that, oh, you got a boyfriend, fine good night?"

"No, they asked about you, but they didn't ask if you were a fox!"

"Of course they didn't. That's not something mammals just normally think of!"

"Okay, alright, I screwed up! Calm down!"

They sat in silence for a minute or two.

"Juds?" Nick spoke first, with a hint of regret in his voice, "That screen says we arrive in 10 minutes. We should think of a strategy"

Judy nodded, and straightened her back. Her ears were still down, she looked sad and confused.

"I really screwed this up. How can I be so dumb? They will be shocked!"

"It's nothing that can't be fixed," he paused, and continued with a more upbeat tone, "How about you call them right now? Or text them, that's fine too."

"So they'll have 10 minutes to cope with the news? No chance."

Nick was calm, but Judy was still panicked. The fox didn't think this was the time to try and cheer her up with jokes, so he fell silent too.

"You know. You can just stay on the train and get back home. I shouldn't put you through this," she broke the silence.

"Well, you can't put _yourself_ through this, if not with my help," he felt like he found the right thing to say, "You said you don't care what they think, why is this different?"

Judy looked back at him and spoke slowly.

"You're right," she smiled a little, "It's going to be fine. We can handle this."

Nick leaned back and smiled at Judy. The train was slowing down, so Judy hopped on her seat to look out the window.

"Oh that's great," she exclaimed with joy.

"What?"

"It's only some of my brothers and sisters at the station. My parents are not here."

"And they…like foxes?"

"They will be a lot nicer, I think. Come on, get the luggage!" she said as she ran forward to the doors.

When they opened a few second later, Nick was still packing down, but Judy ran to the 10 bunnies waiting for her and hugged them all.

"I missed you guys so much," she said excitedly. She was happy and confident, like nothing happened in the last 20 or so minutes on the train.

"We missed you too," said the choir of siblings.

"So, where did you left that famous boyfriend?" one of her brothers asked.

"He's getting our packs," she answered. She wanted to wait for Nick to tell them the truth, but suddenly she felt she should do it as soon as possible.

"Nick, right? Like your partner?" another bunny asked, searching the windows of the train.

"Oh, yeah. Just like my partner," she giggled nervously, "Just like that Nick. Nick the fox, whom I work with. Yeah, exactly like that," she looked around and saw the confused looks she got. "Just call him Nick, that's fine."

"Girl, I guess you have a type," another one of her sisters laughed.

She heard a familiar grunt from behind her, and saw Nick getting off. This is it.

"Look Judy there's a fox!" a small bunny exclaimed, pointing at Nick, who looked around and pulled the bags to the group.

"Yes Lizzie. That is, actually-"

"Nick. Nice to meet you, everyone!" He introduced himself before Judy could finish, raised a paw, and then put it around his 'girlfriend's' waist. They both showed an uncomfortable smile to the bunnies standing with open mouths. The awkward silence was cut by a surprised voice.

"Sweet cheese and crackers…Judy…"

* * *

 _ **This chapter turned out a little longer, I hope you didn't mind!**_

 _ **Thanks for reading! :)**_


	4. Down the Rabbit Hole

_**Thanks 864, Matri, dbzgtfan2004, Acestin, dewrv, Starcosuperfan2015, Justagirlofsomefandoms, Dirtkid123, TopKat90, Selaxes, RavenAndTheWolf, AWILDFANBOY, DeathDemonWolf, MARSHMELLOWTOASTIE, Imyoshi, J-20, Goldyx, sunnieKat, dragonulera, Irual and LolliNinjaPiratePop for the reviews! Also thanks for the favs and follows!**_

 _ **Long chapter ahead, I think I'll keep them this way.**_

 _ **Judy and Nick meet the family, and most things are just as rough as they expected.**_

* * *

Judy didn't expect the nervous silence to be so long. They stood alone on the platform, just 11 bunnies and a fox. There weren't many movements to follow. Nick looked at her and tried to give her an encouraging push to start talking, but she stopped the arm. She also noticed Billy, her oldest brother, pulled their younger siblings away.

"I think we should explain a few things," Judy began, unsure what to say next.

"Oh, I think you should explain more than just a few."

"Billy, don't be so rude," a bunny girl, roughly about Judy's age spoke as she pushed away her brother, "I'm sorry Jude. I'm sure he's just tired today," she continued, eyes fixed on her brother, using a warning tone. After Billy sighed and turned away, the nice bunny extended an arm towards Nick. "I'm Tessa. Nice to meet you."

Nick reluctantly shook it. He could definitely see Judy's mannerisms in Tessa too. They also looked alike more than the others. He felt like he was going to like her.

"Nick Wilde. Pleasure," he said before he let go. He looked at Judy and then at the group of bunnies.

"So, they are Jeremy, Chloe, Martha, Chris, Phil, Teddy, Lizzie, and Penny. And you heard Tessa and Billy." Judy quickly listed the names and pointed at each one of them.

Every bunny greeted him with a single word after their name was said. They were still standing in awkward postures, but they seemed like they just wanted to know more about what was happening. Except for Billy, who was looking in another direction, arms folded.

"So, Nick, what up?" asked Chris. He couldn't have been more than 15.

"Uh…I'm fine," Nick couldn't guess from the simple question if it was mocking him, or if it was just the teenager's style.

"Awesome," Chris began to slowly nod.

"I guess, I should do the talking," said Judy firmly, "This is Nick. He is my boyfriend, and yes, he is a fox. I forgot to mention it on the phone, but I don't think this should be a problem. I-"

"It is bloody big problem, Judy!" Billy cut her off before she could finish.

"Oh really? Care to tell me why?" she asked, moving her paws to her hips and frowning at the taller rabbit.

"He's a fox, Judy. You're a bunny. You really can't see what the problem is?"

"No, I don't see the problem. And I also don't think you have the right to tell me who I can or cannot date."

"You can see it that way, but I'm sure Mom and Dad will agree with me. What will you say then?"

"Cut it out Billy and let Judy explain. If the only thing you can do is fight, you can shut up or walk home," a bunny girl with white ear tips, Chloe, hissed at him. It did the trick.

"So, what I was going to say, is that I hope, that your shock will wear off, and you can treat Nick like a fellow bunny, because he really deserves it." Judy moved closer to Nick and held his paw. "And because I…love him. And if I'm important to you guys, this should be too."

"Judy you are important to us, it's just…we were expecting…," _A bunny_ , another girl finished in her mind, but quickly figured it would be rude to say that, at least when Nick was around. "Someone, other than…your partner."

"Martha, Nick is my best friend," Judy didn't know how to follow up. _I should have written cards_ , she thought. "He would be around even if we weren't together."

"But that's different," a younger bunny, Teddy looked at Judy with a questioning look.

Quick thinking failed Judy. That _was_ different. What if they weren't convincing enough? On top of her family not liking her relationship with a fox, they could figure out it was fake all along. She didn't prepare enough to play the part.

"Not as much as you think," Nick speaking took Judy by surprise, but she hoped he could ease the situation. He was the performer after all. "Judy is right, we are as close as we can get, dating or not. She probably would have brought me here to meet you anyway, isn't that true, darling?" he looked back at Judy, pulling her closer and smiling. The bunny felt unsure if she should speak, so she just smiled back and went along as Nick continued. "She is just as important to me as she is to you. I would never hurt her." Judy's smile widened. She could tell when her friend was acting, but she knew he meant that part. "This situation is uncomfortable for me too, but I want to try my best not to make her feel bad about our relationship, _and_ to get along with you."

"Yes, that's…exactly what I meant," Judy added, „I want you guys to like each other."

"We understand Judy, this is just a little out of the ordinary," said the bunny with glasses, called Jeremy, "I have no problem with it personally, this is a recognized thing, very rare, but recognized, and…all that matters is that you're happy. He finished the babbling with a smile directed at the couple. It was followed by nods and agreeing stuttering.

Judy was happy with how the first meeting went out. It remained tense, but she couldn't believe how easy it was compared to what she'd imagined. Maybe everything will work out smoothly.

"Thank you, this means a lot," Judy smiled back at everybody, before reaching for her luggage, "I think we can go now. You'll have plenty of time to get to know-"

"Fuzzy," a high voice cut off Judy once again. It was Lizzie, the small bunny, looking up at Nick with huge eyes, "Your tail is very fuzzy."

"Uh, thank you." Nick never recieved such a compliment before, and didn't know how he should react.

"Can I please touch it?"

"No!" Judy said, shaking her head at Lizzie and laughing at the idea.

"Sure," Nick agreed after hearing Judy's answer, "Just don't step on it."

He moved his tail so the small bunny could reach it. Everybody stood stunned as she lightly petted it.

"Oh, it's so fuzzy and pretty. Do you want a butterfly clip in it?" she hopped in excitement and started searching in her small bag.

"Maybe no," he picked up their bags and turned to see Judy's awed expression, "What?"

Judy shook her head and snorted, then turned to Lizzie. "Honey, it's not too polite to touch other mammals' tails. Now come on, let's get to the car."

She held the small bunny's paw and skipped along with her to the gate. The others followed them, and Nick just noticed that the station was designed to look like a huge pink rabbit.

"Wow," he whispered to himself. _Rabbits are mad._

"Need help with those?" he heard a male voice and looked back down.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks…"

"Phil"

"Right, sorry." He wasn't confident with so many bunnies around. He had no idea he'd have to learn names.

"No worries. Bet you never heard so many names at once. Buckle up, there's many more to come when we get home," he assured Nick, picking up the smaller suitcase.

"Don't you find it hard?"

"Nah. Gotta admit I was around 6 when I learned all the family members' names. Then the next litter came. And the next. But now I'm used to it. Don't pressure yourself about it. I wanted to use tags once, but our parents didn't like them, so…"

Nick gave him a nod. This bunny was suspiciously friendly.

They reached a small door, where Judy's bag got stuck. Nick had to push it back and lift it over the barrier. Then he saw a huge truck with a bunny painted on the front door. It had four set of seats, with two longer ones in the middle, and a shorter one, cut in half by the trunk. He quickly pulled the bag to the back.

"I'll do that, you get in," he heard another bunny say, who was packing. He walked around to see where he could get in the car, but it was already filled. He couldn't find Judy.

"Nick!" That was Judy's voice, coming from the front seat, "You fit in here," she gestured for him to move around and get in. Oddly enough, the shotgun seat was actually big enough for the two of them.

"Everyone ready?" asked Billy from the driver seat.

"Yup," murmured Nick, trying not to squeeze Judy into the panel on their left.

"Didn't ask you."

"Billy!" Judy shot him an angry look.

"Right."

They started moving, and Nick couldn't help gazing out the window, looking at the fields. He assumed they were a couple miles away from the town, because he didn't see houses.

"How's everybody?" Judy initiated a conversation.

"I was top of my class. Again," said a small bunny with brownish fur.

"That's great, Penny!" Judy replied and turned to see her sister.

"No big deal, the others are just dumb."

"Hey!" next to her, Teddy shouted.

"It's true. If you paid attention in class it wouldn't be," Penny told him, seemingly not caring about her brother.

 _Great,_ Nick thought, _10-year-olds fighting._

"And if you weren't a mean nerd you'd have friends," Teddy shot back.

"Stop it guys," they heard Tessa from the very back.

"Yeah, I'm reading here," growled Chris.

Judy found this new piece of information slightly unbelievable. "Chris? You read? What happened while I was away?"

"Ha ha, funny." He buried his face in a comic book so only his ears were visible.

"It's a new trend. You don't just watch those stupid superhero movies; you read them," came a sound from behind.

"Superheroes are not stupid!" snapped Judy, "That sounds pretty cool, Chris, what's it about?"

"Spider Pig and the Avengers, second series," he muttered.

"I'm reading that too," Nick turned around along with Judy.

"Really?" Judy looked at him.

"Ow, cool, man!" The young bunny boy said with a cheerful voice and extended a fist towards Nick to bumb.

"Yeah, that," Nick bumped back with an uncomfortable smirk on his face.

"I didn't know you read comics," grinned Judy.

"Finnick got me into it a few years back."

"Who's that?" asked Martha from the middle seats.

"He's a buddy from Zootopia," Nick explained, "He's small and yells a lot," he added, to build a more accurate picture.

"Like Uncle Joe then," commented Chloe before she popped a gum bubble.

The bunnies started laughing. Uncle Joe must have been a ridiculous figure, but Nick had no idea who he was, even though Judy told him a few 'funny' family stories. He scoffed to fit in with the others, but looked away. The truck just ran past a street sign, but there were still no houses. Nick squinted and noticed windows on the small hills. Some of them had small chimneys, and even smaller hills attached to them with large doors that filled a side.

"This can't be real," he mumbled to himself as he had a revelation.

"What?" Judy turned back to sit normally and leaned right to see Nick's face.

"These are…actual burrows?"

"Well yes, what did you expect?" she chuckled.

"I don't know. Carrot-shaped semi-detached houses, maybe some not-so-weird ones too…"

"Sorry to dissappoint you," she couldn't help laughing on Nick's expression.

The car stopped in front of one of the biggest hills that had a huge farming field behind it with no visible end. Billy leaned out the window and pressed a button hanging from his keychain which made a garage door open. They went down a spiraling road and reached an underground parking lot, which was filled with other cars, trucks, and bikes. After they got out of the car, the bunnies continued chatting, but Nick stared at the huge place in silence.

"Nick, can you help with these?" Tessa asked him after taking out some plastic bags from the trunk.

"Yes. Of course," he walked to her and picked up a few of the bags, "Where?"

"Just follow us, Mom needs these in the kitchen," she said as she handed the other bags to her sisters. Nick noticed that Judy wasn't coming and shot her a questioning look.

"Go ahead, I'll take our bags to the room. I'll catch up!" she assured him.

Nick followed Tessa, Chloe and Martha to a door that lead to a small room with an elevator in it. It was just like the ones in malls, only smaller, so he needed to pull down his head to stand up. The buttons showed 6 floors, 'Ground floor' being on top. They were going to the fifth one, where he believed the kitchen was. They got out to a long corridor that was mysteriously well lit, even though it was still underground. Nick saw that there were small glass panels on the floor that let the light travel below. There were lots of doors with different signs hanging on them, and at the end, they finally reached the one marked 'Kitchen'.

It was even brighter in there. And it was enormous. There were huge pots and baskets all over the place, multiple ovens, fridges and even more cupboards to store appliances and utensils. The girls dropped the bags on a big wooden counter in the middle and jumped out below an arch that connected the kitchen with the dining hall. Nick stayed and looked around.

"Oh girls, you're back! Are the groceries in the kitchen?" Nick recognized the voice of Judy's mom. They only met once before, but she seemed like a nice lady.

"Yes, Nick is in too."

"So you picked up Judy alright?"

"Yeah, she's packing with the boys."

"Great. Go on, set some tables, I'm going to say hi," she exclaimed and walked closer to the kitchen. Nick felt his heartbeat racing just a bit faster. "Hello, you must be-, oh, Nick! I didn't know you were coming too," Bonnie still sounded happy, not suspecting a thing. He figured he should wait for Judy to tell her he was in fact the only guest she invited.

"Hello Mrs. Hopps!" _Okay, what next?_ "I thought Judy told I was coming." In a way, that was true.

"No, she only mentioned her boyfriend. He's a Nick too." She started unpacking the plastic bags.

"Yeah, we met. Do you need help with those?"

"Thank you. You could throw these in the second fridge, right behind you," she handed him a bag filled with chocolates and creams, "So, where is Nick? Is he packing too?"

"Well, I guess we could say that," he said as he started to stock the bars of chocolate on the top shelves of the fridge. When he closed the door he took a better look at the pictures pinned on it with tiny magnets. Bunnies, bunnies, some postcards, and more bunnies. He tried to spot Judy, but the task turned out to be more difficult than he'd expected. Finally, he found her on a photo of a large group in front of a school building, all dressed up nicely. Prom, probably graduation. Her smile was the same as nowadays.

"I can't wait to meet him!" she cheered, "What is he like?"

"Um, sorry, who?" he shook his head and tried to get his thoughts together.

"Judy's boyfriend. You said you met him."

"Oh, right, that's right. Well, I like him," he mumbled. Bonnie was really nice to him, and he wanted to enjoy it. A little more lying couldn't make things worse. "He's nice. Quite the gentleman…ish type of guy."

"Uh-umm"

"Good sense of humor, smart, handsome,…"

"Sounds great," she sighed and smiled at Nick. "You know, Judy talks a lot about you."

"Really?" He wasn't really surprised by that, but it felt nice to hear.

"Yeah. I'm glad she's got a friend like you in the city. You're a great guy, Nick."

"That's an overstatement," he snickered.

"No, it's not. You had a big impact on Judy, and a mother can tell if it's good. She speaks very highly of you, and I know she has the right reasons."

"Uhhmm," Nick nodded. This conversation took a slight turn.

"Anyway, I'm happy that now she has two boys to look out for her," Judy's mom smiled and walked to the door that led to the corridor. "Most of the family's on the floor below if you want to meet them, but you can come with me and get Judy and her boyfriend."

"I'd prefer that," he said and followed Bonnie.

"Oh, of course. You probably don't want to walk in there alone," she noted.

"Yes, Judy mentioned, that there might be a slight…mistrust-"

"Oh, no, no. We trust Judy's friends," she looked up at him, worried she said something wrong, "But, it's true, there are some bunnies around here who can be, uhm, unfriendly with strangers."

 _Nice of her to put it that way_ , thought Nick.

"I want you to know, we have nothing against foxes," she continued in a faster pace, "Even one of our business partners is a fox." She let out a nervous chuckle.

 _Oh yes, the 'We have some predator friends' talk. So that's where Judy got it from._ Nick slowly gave her a few nods then started gazing at the interior design of the home. It was fascinating, even for someone who couldn't care less about architecture.

The travel to the bottom floor was spent in an awkward silence. When they got out to the corridor Nick heard voices and noises coming from behind closed doors. He noticed that each door looked different, which was not the case back at the kitchen floor. These had stickers and colorful paint on them, some of them had pictures and posters, and every one of them had a frame with a name in it above. This was clearly where the bedrooms were.

Judy's door was painted blue, and it seemed pretty clear at first. As they got closer, Nick noticed some fluorescent stars and a handdrawn ZPD badge glued on. Definitely Judy's work.

"Judy," her mother said her name in a singing voice as she pushed the door open, "are you here sweetheart?"

"Mom!," She jumped at her as soon as she took a step inside. "Oh, I missed you!"

Nick walked in too, causing the younger bunny to pull away from her mother.

"I see you met Nick," she spoke.

"Yes, yes he helped with the groceries. Come, get in." She waved at Nick and stepped away from the door, so he'd have enough space.

"So, I guess he told you…" Judy directed her words more towards Nick, whose ears dropped quickly, realizing that Judy had no idea what he'd talked about with her mother.

"Yes, we had a little chat."

"And…are you…okay with this?" Judy knew her mom gave in easier to anything than her father, but she expected at least some protest. She was also confused by the hand signals Nick was giving her.

"Honey, why wouldn't I be?"

"I…I just thought you would be, I don't know, upset? This…being 'out of the place'."

"Oh no, I'm not upset. Sure, you could've told us, so we had time to prepare, but," Bonnie shrugged, looking at Nick and then back at Judy again, "I'm sure we can find a place for Nick."

"Mom, that's…really great of you," Judy smiled, touched by her mother's reaction.

Nick almost laughed out loud while listening to the conversation. _These bunnies! Everything gets past them._

Judy signaled for him to move to her side, and swallowing his thoughts, he did just that. While he strolled from the door, the older bunny spoke again.

"Come on, your friends will always be welcomed here." She straightened her back along with her ears. "I was actually looking forward to meeting Nick."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that. You'll have plenty of time to get to know each other," Judy chuckled, taking Nick's paw and pulling him closer.

"No, I meant, you, introducing him."

"Didn't that already happen?" Judy started to understand something was off. Her mother couldn't have forgotten the day she introduced the fox who saved her life. She spent a good amount of that day thanking him for being there for her daughter.

"No, I meant…the other Nick," Bonnie tittered.

"What other-?" Judy paused and finally realized what was going on. "No!" she stared at Nick, who was grinning nervously.

"Oh dear!" her mom exclaimed, only now noticing Nick and Judy holding paws.

"What the hell, Nick?!" Judy yelled and stomped, causing Nick to jump a step back.

"Oh dear, Judy, is this what I think it is?"

"Mom, could you…give me some alone time with Nick? We'll explain things later!"

"You better, Judith Laverne Hopps! I want to understand what's going on here!"

"Mom, please!"

She exited with a scoff. Judy pushed the door close and took a long, sharp breath that would be enough to yell at Nick for minutes.

"Laverne?" The fox's questioning snort just made her even angrier.

"This is not the time for that, Nick!" she barked.

"Right, I'll save the comments for later."

"I can't believe you!"

"What?"

"Why did you tell my mom you weren't my boyfriend?"

"Well, technically, I did not say-„

"You know what I mean!" She stomped even harder than the first time.

"Okay, I wanted to wait for you to tell her," he confessed.

"Then at least you could have told _me_. You just made fools out of both of us!"

"Hey, I was signing at you the whole time!"

"Ugh. When will you finally accept, that no one," she waved her arms around crazily, "understands your stupid signs?"

He frowned at her. The atmosphere was tense. They were both thinking about the next step, Judy harder than Nick, who was exploring the room with his eyes. It was huge and long. Around the walls a 6 meters long family portrait was hanging, right next to the magazine cutouts of singers and movies. Judy's bed was at the very end of the room, filled with pillows and plushies, next to another door. The light seemed natural, though Nick couldn't figure out where it came from. There were no glass panels on the ceiling this time.

"We just have to go out there, apologize to my mom, and calmly discuss this. Then we can continue on lying to everyone in peace," she listed, sounding out of breath.

"That's a fine plan," Nick accepted.

"What did you talk about with her?"

"Huh?"

"If not about why you're staying here, than what were you talking about?" She was asking more out of curiosity than wanting to scold Nick.

"Well, she asked me about your boyfriend, and I…told her he was decent." Judy shook her head but silently appreciated Nick's nerve. "Than she said some nice things to me, and…we came here to get you and bunny-Nick."

"Uhhmm. Okay, that's not that bad. We can just tell her you were nervous…" she was thinking out loud.

"'Kay, let's go," he waved at her, opening the door. "Umm, we got a problem."

"Don't tell me she's gone," she cried, still hoping for the best. She jumped to the corridor to find it empty. "No, she must've gone to find Dad. Ugh…"

"So…we're gonna go look for them or just wait?"

"Judy! Judy!" Five small bunnies skipped to her door.

"Hey boys! Haven't you guys seen Mom or Dad?"

"We have." said a bunny in front of the others.

"Dad's very angry. I think you're in trouble," said another.

"Who's this?" Someone pointed at Nick.

"This is Nick. He's my friend, uhm, boyfriend." Judy didn't want to ignore her brothers, but she was impatient to get to her parents before things got bad. Or worse. "Where are Mom and Dad?"

"Umm, in the living room with the others."

"We just came from there."

"Great, thanks. Come on," Judy pulled Nick and hurried to the elevator at the end of the hallway. Judy pressed the button to bring them to the 4th floor.

"I hope Dad didn't flip out in front of the whole family," she gritted her teeth.

"Your mom said everyone was in the living room, so…" Nick informed her.

They stepped out to the corridor, which had quite a few bunnies standing in it. Some of them pulled their ears and looked at them.

"Gosh, it's true," came a high gasp from a bunny standing far from the elevator.

"Uhm, hey!," Judy waved at the family members, trying to act natural. "You must have heard of Nick." She giggled and nodded her head in the direction of the fox standing right next to her.

They caught a couple of unsure smiles, three or four dropped jaws, and lots of angry or confused glimpses. Judy slowly began walking toward the arch that led to the main hall.

"Becky! Leonard! Pete! Aunt May!" she continued on greeting everyone they passed, but only a few of them returned the same. "Claire, and you bought little Angelica too! Wow, they grow fast for sure!"

"Yes, exactly," Judy's older sister, Claire mumbled back, eyes fixed on Nick.

"Oh my…! Samantha?" Judy exclaimed when she moved her gaze to her other side. "Is that a new-?"

"They're blue, Judy. Get over it." She shook her dyed ears.

"It really isn't a phase then, right?" Judy awkwardly smiled and kept studying the bright blue fur on her sister.

"It's called standing out of the crowd. Though I'm sure you're familiar with that term." She was running her gaze over Nick.

They finally reached the arches and turned in to the large area. No one noticed them at first, which was probably a good thing. Nick looked around, searching for Judy's mom, but the large amount of bunnies only made him dizzy. An old rabbit with large glasses was sitting in a wheelchair right at the corner.

"Hi Pop!" Judy gently touched his shoulder, which caused the elderly bunny to look up.

"Bonnie! Bonnie! It's the devil! It's here!" he screamed and started stirring to the crowd of bunnies.

"That's more like it," Nick said, unimpressed.

"For God's sake Pop-Pop, stop that." Judy's mother rushed over from the other side of the room.

"Judy are you really dating a fox?!" a voice came from the group following Bonnie.

"Uhmm…yes! Yes, I am." Judy straightened her back and talked confidently. "I won't spend the week explaining myself, I came here to have fun. If you want to make such a big issue out of me being with Nick, we can just leave."

"Oh, oh, oh, stop right there, young lady." Judy's father fought his way to the front. "You can't just march in here like that without a good explaination, so let's hear one."

"Dad, you-"

"Explain!"

Judy's ears dropped. Her father's eyes could have cut Nick in half if such a thing was possible. She hoped her family would just leave her alone, but now she needed to gather what she wanted to say. _All this trouble for a stupid act…_

"Mr. Hopps, maybe I could-" the fox began, trying to help Judy.

"No, you can't!" Stu cut him off, pointing a finger at him. "And you better watch your back, because-"

"Dad, don't talk to him like that!" Judy yelled. "Bringing Nick here unannounced was my fault, leave him alone!"

"So he didn't want to come?"

"We didn't want this to go south. I thought you liked Nick," _And I thought you had no problem with foxes_ , she wanted to add.

"Yeah, as your friend," Stu stated angily.

"How is this any different?" Judy cried, stepping closer.

"You're asking how? Oh don't make me go into details."

"Stu, you should calm down a little." Bonnie stepped in.

"You're overreacting, Dad," said a boy standing behind them.

"I am not!" he turned back.

"You are, Stu. What's the big deal?" Judy's uncle spoke. "This is weird, but Judy's 26, she can make her own decisions."

"You're taking their part too?"

"I think-" Nick began once again, only to get cut off.

"I said you're not-"

"Dad, would it hurt to listen to him?" Judy stomped.

"Fine," Stu agreed, folding his arms.

"Thank you, Mr. Hopps." Nick cleared his throat and continued, "What I was going to say, is that Judy never meant to frighten you. She forgot to tell you about me, because she ignored the fact that we make an unusual couple. And that is probably because she couldn't imagine her family not supporting her." His voice started getting more forceful, and Judy reached out to pull him back before he said something that angered her father even more. "I'm sure everybody thought a bunny couldn't make it as cop, and here she is! Best officer they had in the last decade. Made it, because she knew you believed in her, that's right? Now she asks you to trust her judgement, and I -"

"Nick that's enough," Judy broke him off and looked back at her family. "Dad, Mom. We are happy together. Let us have this, just for one week."

"Yeah, after we leave you can say whatever you want about us," Nick assured.

"Not helping," Judy whispered to Nick. She cleared her throat and turned to her parents. "I just want you to at least pretend you're okay with this. Think of Nick as a friend I brought along, but please, don't ruin the Carrot Days with fighting."

Silence fell for a few moments. Nick looked pleased with himself. He judged the bunnies' reactions, and he believed their talk might have worked. No one seemed really angry around them, but it was sure, the older bunnies did frown. He put his arm around Judy's waist. _If we force them to see it, they will have to accept it_. Judy was hoping for the worst, so her father's next words took her by shock.

"Alright."

"Really?" Judy smiled.

"One condition." Stu raised a finger. "He stays away from your room."

"Absolutely," Nick nodded, loosening his grip on Judy.

"Nice enter, Jude," one of her brothers raised his head, "Could we now go and eat, Mom?"

"Of course Jim, then we can head out to the festival," she coughed once and grabbed a small bell from a shelf. "Lunch, everybody! Get to the tables!"

With that, most of the bunnies turned and walked out behind Nick and Judy, who were still staring back at Judy's parents. They got a few looks, heard their names mentioned, but nothing major happened.

"This doesn't mean I'm okay with it, it means I'll try," Stu stated just to make a point.

"But we _will_ try hard if that's what makes Judy happy, right Stu?" Bonnie stood closer to her husband and forced a smile.

"Yes," he sighed, "Now, let's go and eat. You two will sit close where I can see you." Stu signaled with two fingers as he stepped outside with the other bunnies.

"Sure, Dad. One minute and we'll be upstairs." Judy pulled Nick further inside the hall, which started to get empty.

It was gigantic. Huge bookshelves stood along the walls with ladders next to them, there were at least a hundred sofas and beansacks lying around, and Nick could see coffee tables that covered up piles of board games. The hall took a turn at some point, so he couldn't see where it ended, but he could tell this was the biggest room he's ever seen in a house.

"Thanks," Judy started when they were left alone, "but, maybe you shouldn't bring up my police training to emotional blackmail them. They were actually kind of discouraging about that."

"I didn't know that," Nick said slowly. _She always said they just worried a lot about her. So, she really made it happen alone?_

"Well, it never came up," she chuckled, "But thanks, for helping me out. Now, and back at the station too."

"Hey, what am I here for?" he laughed and patted Judy's ears.

"To make things less of a disaster than they could be," she swatted his paw away.

"Bright side is they actually believe us." Nick shrugged.

"Look at you! Always the optimist," Judy giggled, "Try to enjoy yourself, okay? They'll might get to like you."

He replied with a nod. "I'm starving, we should get to the dining room." He turned around and started walking to the now empty hallway. Judy followed. When they reached the elevator, she pressed the button to the ground floor.

"Uhm, Carrots, aren't we going to the dining room?"

"Yes we are."

"Oh, I thought I saw it from the kitchen, but that must have been something else."

"No, that's it. It has a floor above, I thought you'd like to see."

"Wait it's…that big?"

"Well, it has to fit 500 bunnies." Judy laughed and stepped out. Nick hesitantly did the same and looked around.

The floors came spiraling on the side of the building, ending on the ground, where a huge court was filled with tables of different sizes and shapes. Barriers followed the edge of the spiral, which also had a few smaller tables. On their right, a wide staircase cut it through, allowing them to walk directly to the bottom. They joined the other bunnies and chose to use the stairs. This was the place where the windows visible from the surface led. It was bright and warm.

Nick and Judy were surprised that they didn't get many looks, and apparently most of the bunnies were chatting about other things. Nick noticed, that the tables were devided by age group, with the examples of baby bunnies who sat with older ones. He also wondered how they gathered their food, but then he saw a long table filled with cauldrons and bowls. Some bunnies took a whole pot to their table, others only filled their plates. Nick found it weird at first, then realized this was probably highly practical, so he let it go. Judy chose not to talk to him, and let him wonder at the place. She'll give him a tour later.

They walked all the way near to the kitchen, where they found the table Judy's parents were sitting at, along with four more bunnies. They were also talking about something that seemingly wasn't the odd couple, which filled both Nick and Judy with relief. They sat down, causing the table's members to set their eyes on them.

"Oh wow," Judy's aunt huffed, "Judy, I don't believe we met your friend."

Judy let out a sigh. Looks like they won't be able to drop this topic for a while.

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_

 _ **Next up; meeting more family, running into Gideon, and finding a video of baby Judy.**_

 _ **(In the first draft I wrote "for one week only" instead of "just for one week", but then I flinched so hard editing the text, I had to change it.)**_


	5. Backstories

**_Thank you Dark Shining Light, batbinmyheart91, Sayiri the Fox, J-20, Feyha, Aninat131, dragonulera, Dirtkid123, Toni42, .4xvxr, TopKat90, Omnitrix 12, 864, SpaceWolf04, Acestin, AWILDFANBOY, sunnieKat, Selaxes and Matri for the reviews, and of course thank you everybody who followed/favorite!  
Sorry for the late update, I was working last week.  
Anyway, enjoy reading!_**

* * *

"Her boyfriend, actually." Judy's father looked at his sister before slurping a spoonful of soup.

"Oh...so, this is what you meant."

The bunnies sitting at the table shot questioning looks to one another, but mostly towards Stu and Bonnie. The exception was a short middle-aged female with huge pink glasses and a pullover to match it, who jumped in her seat and spoke to Judy.

"How exciting! Just like my neighbor Emily, don't you think?" The rest of the family didn't respond to her, but she continued regardless. "Sweet little sheep, helps a lot around my garden," she explained to Judy, who was sitting in silence, "Last month she couldn't come over, said she was meeting someone. A wolf! Who would have guessed that?"

"That's nice, Aunt Sandra," Judy assured her. She had mixed emotions about her crazy aunt's reaction. At least someone had a fully positive opinion about this thing.

"It was a sign!"

"Sandra, please not at the table," the rabbit next to her sighed.

"It sure was! Seeing an odd couple like that on a Friday night means the next one is coming my way." She gestured at Nick and Judy.

"No, it doesn't," argued someone from across the table.

"Anyhow," Bonnie interrupted, "Judy, don't you want to go and pick up some food with Nick?"

They immediately knew what she tried to hint, and they gladly stood up to leave the bunnies alone. Nick was happy for two reasons; One, he didn't have to stay for the awkward conversation, and two, he could finally grab something to eat. Both of them took their plates.

"Did you know about this?" They heard a strong whisper directed at Judy's parents as they left in the other direction.

"That went well," Nick smiled at Judy.

"We didn't even talk."

"That's why."

Judy giggled and pointed at the long counter with the pots on it. She hugged a couple bunnies and greeted some more on the way to the edge of the hall. They got to the food quickly, and Judy instantly poured a large amount of soup into her bowl and smelled it with a satisfied moan. Nick stirred the green liquid and showed it much less sympathy.

"Ergh, Carrots?" he lightly elbowed Judy.

"Nick, don't call me-"

"Sorry," he interrupted and pushed Judy again, "Ergh, _sweetheart_? What am I looking at?" he lifted the spoon and poured the soup back into the cauldron.

"Pea soup," she shrugged and turned to walk back to the table. "Oh, Nick you don't really-"

"Eat vegetables? No." He looked at Judy, slightly concerned that he might will stay hungry after all. With a gasp, he poured some soup into his bowl and followed Judy.

"Nick, there are other things you can eat. I think I saw pasta and some cake too. Or we could drive to the supermarket and get you something else," she suggested.

"I never tried this. Now seems like a good time."

"Well, if you think so."

They walked back to their seats, where fortunately no one seemed too upset, so they sat and quietly started eating while the others talked about a football game.

Nick frowned a few times, but eventually cleared his plate and listened to the conversation. He wasn't a fan of football, and he didn't know any rabbit teams to start with. He also didn't want to stand and walk away to get more food alone, and after Judy failed to notice his signals, he started playing songs in his head.

"Nick?" Judy lightly pulled his sleeve.

"Um, yeah," he looked back. The bunny smirked and moved her head to point at one of her uncles. He must have asked him a question. "Oh…sorry, I didn't catch that."

"What were you doing before joining the police?" the rabbit asked.

"Oh, well I…ran my own business," Nick nodded.

"What business?" A lady with pierced ears asked.

"Um, small business. I was…," _conning people out of their money, in very creative ways, I must add_ , "selling popsicles and such."

"Now that's interesting," the same bunny said in an impressed tone.

"It is," Judy noted, "If it wasn't for those popsicles, I wouldn't have met him in the first place."

"Oh, darling! You purchased some sweets and fell in love. How romantic!" Aunt Sandra sounded like she was melting from her feelings.

"Oh, no," Judy blurted, "no, no, no, no! That's not…"

"That's not how it went down," Nick finished. "Right?"

"Yeah, that's another story," Judy nodded back at Nick, "I just found him because...he was the only witness to the case I was working on."

"Right, the one you solved together," an uncle guessed.

"Exactly," Nick and Judy nodded in union.

"So, how did you get together then?"

"I'd like to know that too," Stu commented in a much friendlier tone than before.

"Oh, count me in!" Tessa exclaimed from the table next to them and pushed her chair back, along with some other bunnies sitting nearby.

"We were best friends for a long time, and it just…happened," Judy smiled.

"Okay, but _how_ did it happen?"

"Well, that's a good story," Judy chuckled, "Why don't you tell it Nick?"

Nick frowned at the desperately smiling bunny, and tried to think up a story that wouldn't sound too cliché, when it hit him; they already had something that could work.

"Um, it happened a couple months ago, Judy's birthday actually," he began, only to get immediately cut off.

"Aww, that's cute," a young girl leaned closer.

Judy remembered that story very well. With altered endings, it really could have been a fine first date for any mammals. _Smart fox_ , Judy thought.

"So, there was a small celebration at the station," he continued, "and we had some donuts with colleagues there, but then I decided to show her this café I heard about. They have a huge selection of cakes, and cookies, and these special ice creams…," he shook his head for a second, "So, I tell her, she can choose whatever she likes, and I'll pay for it as a gift. And this sly little bunny," he looked at Judy, "took me at my words and ordered everything, I'm not kidding, I must have spent half of my paycheck on her carrot cake spiced latte and that fruit-jelly rice cake, and that's not all."

"Yes it is!" Judy pushed him.

"Oh it is so not. Don't you remember the 8-scoop-sundae with cherry and peanuts, and how you begged me to help you finish it after you had like 3 spoonsful?" Nick grinned at her.

"I had much more than that!" she laughed offended.

"What happened then?" Bonnie asked, visibly interested in the rest.

"Right, where was I?" Nick clicked his tongue and continued, now moving his gaze, but still focusing on Judy. "So, after two hours of struggling with eating all that stuff, we walked around trying to find a place where they hand out free birthday-drinks, but she convinced me that she can make great cocktails at home. Of course, I was okay with that, and we headed to her place."

"And I found all the presents," Judy looked around the family.

"Oh yes, the huge pile of boxes blocking the hallway. And we opened them all," Nick remembered, "And after that she made some terrible drinks, and after that, I tried, and they were even worse, so we just opened a bottle of wine, and…after a couple of glasses we just-"

"I think we don't need to hear that," Stu interrupted.

"…talked," Nick said, still looking at Judy, "We had a great talk, all night, and oh, then we watched that awful, awful movie! About those mares who were-"

"Trying to get the same horse to go to prom with them," Judy snorted at the same time as Nick. "It seemed good at first!"

"Well, making fun of it was good."

They both laughed. _Oh, that was an amazing day._

"And…after that?" one of Judy's cousins asked.

 _I helped her clean up the wine she spilled while playing Charades before she passed out in the wardrobe trying to find Narnia. Then I put her in bed and left,_ Nick thought. But that didn't seem like a nice enough ending, so he skipped those parts.

"Not much," Judy shrugged.

"What, you guys didn't even kiss?" the girl next to Tessa questioned. They saw some ears starkly shooting in the air after the question.

Nick and Judy looked at each other, before Judy took a deep breath and answered.

"We…did. Yeah, we kissed." She nervously looked back at Nick, "Once. Or twice"

"Yeah, something like that," Nick nodded and broke eye contact with Judy and spoke to the family, "And, than we repeated these…dates, and…the rest is history." They looked back at each other. That was a good round.

"That was sweet, wasn't it, Stu?" Bonnie nudged her husband.

"Oh, yeah, it was nice," he admitted shamefully. "I think we should start getting ready to head out. Mickey's show is in 30 minutes." With that he stood up and left the table.

"That's right, finish up and get ready if you want to come!" Bonnie spoke louder so everyone would hear.

"I'll garb a cake and we can go," Nick smiled at Judy as he stood up, only to turn back moments later, defeated. "No more cake left."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Judy told him and turned to her mother, "Mom? Could we take the jeep this afternoon and buy some predator food for Nick? We'll be back in time."

"Of course, honey!" she said. "I'm sorry we weren't prepared, Nick."

"No problem, Mrs. Hopps," Nick lightly shook his head.

"My brother, Carl has a restaurant. He can cook up something for you. I'm not too good with predator dishes," she laughed. Judy sensed her mother's approval, and it definitely made her happy. Bonnie was still a bit anxious, but that didn't matter.

"That sounds great, but I'm fine with canned food. No need to bother." Judy wasn't sure what the fox was doing. Was it a technique to get even better food, or he really meant that?

"Like I would let you!" Bonnie flicked her paws. "You're the guest. It won't be a bother."

"Thank you." Nick smiled, to which he got a nod as a reply.

"Thanks, Mom," Judy stepped in, "We'll get going too. We could get some pies at Gideon's on the way."

"Let's go then."

They climbed the stairs and got out on the biggest door on the ground level hallway. It was bright outside, especially after spending the last couple hours underground, and Nick wished he had his sunglasses. They began walking with the crowd. Here and there they saw other families exiting their own homes and joining them on the street. Judy excitedly pointed at everything and told stories about the town, but it was a little fast for Nick to follow. He just smiled at Judy whenever there was a small pause in the babbling, but instead of the school building and the playground, he concentrated his gaze on the large valley. Crops, sunflowers, tractors. And behind all those, something like a lake was visible.

"It's very quiet," the fox noted. The small talks of rabbits weren't enough to compare to the city central where they spent most of their days.

"Well, yes. It'll be busier when we get to the festival."

"No, that's not what I meant. It's nice like this." Nick continued staring at the open fields on their far left. Judy couldn't resist throwing her assumption at him.

"You've never been out of the city?"

"Once. School field trip. But not this far out."

"There's not too much to see."

Nick shrugged. "It would make a good painting."

"I can show you around later if you want that."

Noises hit their ears. They were getting closer to the field. Some children rushed past them, probably to be the first ones to sit on a ride, or get a front row seat at that show they were going to see. A number of minutes later they arrived at the entrance; a huge sign beard by wooden pillars. Right after they got in, they saw Gideon's stand.

"There it is," Judy pointed the direction and pulled Nick forward. "Gideon?"

"Oh, hello there Judy. What can I do for you?" the fox stopped stacking the pies and stood to the front of the wooden box.

"We need a big slice of your best blueberry pie," Judy answered. Nick gazed over her to have a better look at Gideon. About his height, bit darker fur, chubby, seems like a nice folk. All he knew about him was that he sent pies to Judy once in a while, and they were mighty delicious. She never mentioned he was a fox, so Nick always imagined a rabbit in an apron.

"Comin' right away," Gideon was ready to turn back to the shelves when he noticed Judy's companion. "You must be Mr. Wilde, ain't that right?" he reached out to shake paws with Nick.

"It's Nick. Big fan of the pies," he winked at the other fox and reached forward.

"Hello, Nick and thank you. Gideon Grey," he introduced himself, "Nice to see a big city fox in the Burrows. Judy brought you along?"

"Yes, we're staying for the week."

"We might bump into each other then," he picked up a pie and placed it on the counter, "One blueberry pie. That'll be three green ones."

"Thanks Gideon," Judy said and put three dollar bills into the fox's paw.

Nick lifted the pie from the plate and took a bite. "Hmm, even better than the ones from the mail."

"Glad to hear that, mister." Gideon smiled, clearly proud of himself. "Are you plannin' on enterin' the contest?"

"What contest? Can I win any more pies?" Nick leaned closer, interested in the deal.

"That's a good one!" the baker laughed along. "On Wednesday I'm holdin' a pie eatin' contest. Winner gets a 25 dollar voucher to my shop."

"Oh, that sounds great!" Judy hopped, "Where can I enter?"

"Right here, just write your name on the list and it's done." He placed a piece of paper in front of them. Judy looked at the names of those who already signed up.

"I'm so going to win this," the bunny exclaimed and scribbled her name on a dotted line.

"Not with me around, Fluff." Nick took the pen after Judy finished and wrote his name right under hers.

"With you around?" Judy laughed, "You eat like a princess!"

"That's table manners," Nick held up a finger, "You haven't seen the fighter yet."

"The fighter?"

"I got three wins under my belt, and that's just pie eating." He smirked at Judy, lowering his head to her level. "How many do you got?"

"Seven," Judy smugly replied, smacking Nick's tie.

"Sev-…wow. That's a lot." His sudden gained confidence disappeared in a matter of seconds.

"I know. Be prepared!"

Nick scoffed.

"The first show of the Carrot Days Junior Talent Program will start in 10 minutes in barn B. Please take your seats." The voice came from an armadillo standing on a podium near the mentioned barn. Most of the mammals around walked to the doors.

"Come on, Nick," Judy jumped away. "Bye, Gideon!"

"Bye." Nick also waved at him.

"Have fun, Judy and Nick!" the fox shouted after them.

They walked to the barn and found a couple of good seats in the middle rows. Judy's parents were sitting further in front of the stage.

"So," Nick spoke, almost finishing his pie, "What is this show about?"

"I don't know," Judy replied honestly. "Every year, kids get to put on plays, or dance, or something like that. And on the last day, they jury picks a winner."

"Sounds like fun." Nick took the next bite with that.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Tessa dropped into the seat next to Nick. She was followed by another sister of Judy, Nick hasn't met.

"Hey there," Judy gasped. "Jackie, have you met Nick?" she looked at the new bunny.

"Nope," she turned to Nick and waved, "Jacqueline. Call me Jackie." She seemed just as nice as Tessa earlier. "Nice to finally meet you in person. You know, sometimes Judes just can't shut up about you."

"Oh, is that true?" the fox put his left arm around Judy.

"You wish. It's hard to ignore my partner when I'm talking about my job," she frowned at her sister.

"Hey, you think this year will top the Career-plan show?"

"I really hope so, so people will stop talking about that." Judy gritted her teeth.

"Why, what's that?" Nick asked.

"Just the single best thing the Carrot Days ever produced"

"Little Judy's show. Written and directed by her."

"And did it win something?"

"Haha, not exactly," Jackie carried on. "It was almost disqualified for too much blood."

"Jesus, what was it about?" Nick turned to Judy, who was sitting with arms folded.

"About dreams. Goals. Evolution." Judy sounded like she wanted to prove herself, but even her voice was a bit cynical.

"Sounds like a masterpiece," Nick snickered, suspecting from the rabbits' tone that it was nowhere near that.

"We have it on tape at home." Jackie looked at Nick with a suggesting eyebrow raise.

"I guess now we have plans after this ends," Nick playfully pushed Judy, whose face stayed still with an annoyed look on it. She didn't even try to protest. _Must be used to her sisters showing that video to everyone_ , Nick guessed.

"So," Judy leaned forward, ignoring Nick to ask her sisters, "What's Mickey's show about?"

"Umm," Tessa and Jackie shrugged at each other. "He tried to explain but…it wasn't clear."

"I guess it's like…Hamlet with aliens," Tessa finished.

"Oh," Nick seemed impressed with the premise of the next hour or so.

"That might beat my show," Judy sighed hopefully.

Before anyone could have made a remark, the lights went out and music started to play. Soon a group of children appeared, all wearing spacesuits and moving in slow motion. The story was somewhat like Hamlet, mixed with space and time travel. The little grey bunny, Mickey, waved to his family all the time. He couldn't have been more than 7, obviously the youngest member of the cast, even though he seemed tall next to the squirrel he was performing with. Nick also spotted sheep, a raccoon, two more bunnies with whiter fur and even a bobcat. He noticed that only about half of the barn was filled with bunnies, the rest was made up of other animals.

At the very end of the show Judy cheered louder than anyone when his little brother bowed on the stage. Nick clapped awkwardly. Whatever he's just seen, had made no sense at any point of the hour long play.

"That was fun!" Judy picked up her bag.

"If by fun, you mean long and confusing," Nick was still staring at the stage with a tangled expression, "I have to agree."

"Second that," Jackie mumbled, making the same face.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad! The direction was decent." Judy, always looking at the brighter side.

"Maybe, but not as good as in _Dreams, Goals, Evolution_ ," Tessa picked up her bag and faced Judy, "So let's go and watch that!" With that, she tried to pull her sister to the gates, but she drew her arm from the grip.

"We just came here. I want to look around," Judy stomped.

"Nothing's open yet."

Tessa had a point. It was the first day, the day when everyone started building the stands and tents, which got ready only later in the afternoon. The only programs available were the bounce house, playing at the already built playground, and swimming in the nearby lake.

"Can't we just go look around? Nick?" Judy looked up at him, but the fox didn't answer. He really wanted to watch that video, and after spending 60 minutes with pointless sitting, he wasn't in the mood for wandering around yet empty barns and containers.

"I get it. You naughty kids want some alone time, eh?" Jackie winked at her younger sister.

"Ew, no," Judy grimaced. "I just want to see what we can try later when we come back."

"There are fliers," Nick pointed to a box, filled with small booklets that had a timetable printed on them.

"And it's on their website too," Tessa sighed and pulled Judy by her bag's strap, "Come on! I need a good laugh."

"Ugh, fine." Judy agreed.

"Great. I'm with the car." Jackie waved her keys and signaled with her ears for the others to follow her.

"Actually, could I have a moment with Judy? We'll catch up," Nick coughed. The two girls exited the barn, and Nick looked around to check if they were alone, than he walked further inside.

"What is it?" Judy asked.

" _'Ew no?'_ A simple no is not enough?" Nick whispered, looking cross.

"You're being too sensitive again." Judy rolled her eyes and took a step to walk around her partner when he took her shoulder and stopped her.

"It's not that!" The fox swallowed hard before continuing. "Though I am an exceptionally good kisser, just so you know that."

"Such a shame that I never will," Judy snorted, gazing around the empty barn.

"Don't you think if you refuse that so openly, you'll get yourself busted?" His voice quickly changed to monotone and bored, preparing himself that the bunny won't get his point.

"I told them I didn't want to make out with you. That's normal when we only arrived 4 hours ago."

"And you think that if you're clearly disgusted by the idea, you won't seem suspicious?"

"I…maybe you're right," the bunny's annoyed statement made Nick grin. "We'll talk about this later."

"That's what I thought. Let's get going."

They froze. About 10 meters behind them, Judy's sisters were standing in the gate, looking at them.

"They couldn't have heard that…" she gulped, "Right?"

"No. We were whispering and they weren't listening. I think," Nick calmed her and took a step.

"Would you guys hurry? It's getting boring out here!" Tessa shouted.

The fox and the bunny increased the speed of their steps, now holding paws. Jackie and Tessa showed them the way to an almost empty parking lot, where Nick saw a jeep similar to the one they drove from the station. This one was painted white, and it had much more stickers and signs on the doors and the windshield.

"So, you guys have been together for almost three months now?" Jackie asked, searching for the keys she threw back into her purse.

"Um, yes," Judy smiled.

"Best three months I've ever had," Nick tightened his grip on Judy's paw and lifted it, just so the movement would be visible.

"Cheesy," Judy coughed, covering her mouth.

"What was that?"

"I love your car!" Judy avoided the question and pointed at said vehicle.

"Cool color, right?" Jackie giggled, "Ben and Leonard fixed it up so now it's fast. And I mean _really_ fast."

"Please don't ask her to prove it. Wait for the roller coaster to get built."

Judy and Nick got into the back. The seats had a few magazines and soda cans thrown all over them, which Nick swept to the floor with an elegant move. Then Jackie started the engine and they turned out of the paved area to a small grassy lane.

"How do you like it so far, Nick?" Tessa turned from the passenger seat.

"It's good. Your house is amazing," he complimented.

"Bet you don't have big burrows like this in the city," she laughed. "I meant, aren't you anxious about the family?"

"Not really," he shrugged, "Most of you have been quite friendly."

"Yeah, we didn't expect that," Judy added.

"Mom seems okay with it," Jackie said, taking a sharp turn, "that means Dad will be too. Pop-Pop and Gran will probably try to tease you. Tina's side of the family is not here, fortunately…"

"Eh, somebody's going to start a tantrum, but most of us don't really care. You're fine," Tessa gave him a nod.

"That's cool." Judy swung her legs, kicking the empty cans.

"Nick, what did your family think?" Jackie gazed back in the mirror.

"Um…, we haven't told them." _Nice move, Nick_ , he thought to himself.

"How come?"

 _Damn._

"Well, we simply had no chance to tell my mother yet."

"Has Judy met her?"

"A few times," Nick gave a short answer.

After he decided to apply to the police, Judy figured it was time to pay his mother a visit. Nick was reluctant about it, but after searching through the ZPD's files, she found an address and made him join her. That day included a 5 minutes long silent hug, some great tea, and Nick actually tearing up, although he claimed that a fur got into his eye. The next time Judy saw his mom was on the day he graduated. Since last year, they only met once or twice, but what was important was that Judy managed to get Nick to reconnect with his family.

"And your dad?" Tessa asked, even though she felt that Nick didn't mention him on purpose.

"Um, he…died."

Judy tensed. She heard the very same answer to the very same question a while ago.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know," Tessa mumbled.

"You couldn't have. It's fine," Nick assured her, even though he suddenly felt less fine than before.

"And…um, I guess you're an only child?" Jackie awkwardly tapped on the wheel.

"Yeah," he shrugged. He liked it better when they weren't talking about him.

"Sometimes I wish I was…" Jackie laughed. Judy kicked her seat from behind which resulted in Jackie suddenly pulling the wheel away.

"Aaah!" she yelled and swung her right arm back at her sister. "And this is exactly why! You can't disturb the driver!"

"It's not like you could have hit anything," Tessa told her, looking up from her phone.

Soon they arrived to the house from behind, and Jackie parked the car next to some other trucks. She hopped out and helped Judy open the door.

"So," she began, "Wanna grab some popcorn, or should we go ahead and watch that little gem?"

"We're fine like this, just get it over with," Judy answered before Nick could've asked for some nachos too.

They walked inside on a big backdoor that was shaped like rabbit ears, and got to the upper floor of the dining hall. Nick noticed that some bunnies were still downstairs, drinking coffee and eating snacks. The group of four stood into the elevator and travelled to the same floor where the living room was. Everyone there seemed to mind their own business, but then again, they didn't have much time to confront anybody since they entered the second door on the corridor. It had tall shelves on both sides, with a big wheeled ladder standing in the middle. Some shelves were still unfilled, all the others had boxes with numbers scribbled on their sides.

"2003…2002…2001…here it is," Jackie pulled the ladder to where she was standing and climbed up, "Um, Tessa it was the green one, right?"

"Yeah, that's it!"

"Then catch." With that, she dropped a green box into her sister's arms.

Nick's eyes widened. These were all the family videos. He saw roughly 150 boxes stacked, and wondered how many tapes could there be. He knew his family had about 5, even though his parents insisted on documenting almost everything.

Tessa opened the box and Judy kneeled next to her and helped to search it through.

" _'Max, Linda, Nora, Phil are 5' , 'Mary wins race 1992' , 'Judy and Tessa playing with balls'_. Why is this tape here?" Judy turned the cassette in her paws and with a shrug she stood up, "I'll put this back."

"No no no, come on! I'm showing him that too!" Tessa grabbed it from her and put it in her lap.

"What? Mary crashing her go-kart after the finish line?" Judy raised an eyebrow.

"No, you dummy," she snorted and turned to Nick, "You'll love baby Judy. We were the cutest! Really, Jackie, please find some more tiny Judes videos for me!"

"I don't think you should dump all these stuff on Nick. We couldn't even unpack yet."

"Oh, no way I'm skipping this!" he laughed at Judy's poor attempt to get away from watching more tapes.

"Got it!" Tessa exclaimed. "It's right before ' _Judy and Flora dancing'_. We're watching that too."

"Okay, that'll be enough," Judy began.

"I have your second birthday here, couldn't find more," Jackie jumped from the ladder. "Your room or we try the TV room?" she elbowed Tessa.

"Your room!" Judy stomped.

"Alright, no need to yell," Jackie raised her paws, "Come on!"

Now with three cassettes, and old video player and some cables, they exited the room and walked to the lift.

"Is it really that embarrassing?" Nick whispered to Judy.

"Not worse than anything else you've already seen," she replied, "But I don't like showing it to others."

"Hey, if it's that bad, I'll let you watch one of mine."

"Nah, you won't have anything that compares."

"You think?"

They arrived to the right floor.

"Well, what's the most embarrassing childhood memory you can think of?" Judy asked.

"You got me there, I never wrote plays or anything," he started to think, "But I could find something if I wanted to."

"I'll be waiting then," Judy shrugged with a half-grin on her face.

Tessa's bedroom was right next to Judy's. The door was purple, with a large _Keep out_ sign hanging from the middle. From the inside, it looked pretty similar to Judy's room. The wardrobe and the door on the other wall were in the same place. Tessa's bed was huge, and had way more pillows. Where in Judy's room was a desk, a big TV hanged from the wall, facing the bed.

"Hop on, choose a pillow," Tessa pointed with her thumb.

Judy and Jackie jumped on top of the covers and stacked some cushions behind their backs. Nick picked up some and looked at them. Bunny. Cloud. Fluffy cloud. Carrot with a smiling face. Finally he found a simple green one, and put it between the wall and himself. The TV started buzzing and a small bunny with a missing tooth appeared. Tessa held the remote control and sat on the edge of her bed, next to her sisters, and started fast forwarding the tape.

"Stop," Jackie nudged her.

 _A still well-lit stage appeared, with paper cutout grass and vines._

 _"Stu why are you recording? It hasn't started yet," Judy's mom spoke on the recording._

 _"You can't know that. Jude said there was going to be a surprise."_

 _"She didn't mean it starts with the lights on."_

 _"Let me do this my way, Bonnie." The lights began to fade, only a small spot stayed at the bottom corner of the stage. "See?"_

 _Music started to play, and a small bunny jumped out to the light. She started skipping on all fours as she spoke in a serious voice that didn't suit the adorable looks._

 _"Fear. Treachery. Bloodlust." She twitched her nose after each jump._

"Dramatic entrance," Nick commented.

"Shut up and watch it," Judy hit him with the fluffy cloud pillow.

 _"A world, where prey were scared of predators," the bunny jumped to a carton puddle while a cub in a tiger costume peeked from behind the grass, "And predators had an uncontrollable, biological urge to maim, and maul, and-"_

 _She was cut off by the loud roar of the jaguar cub who jumped at her and lightly hit her with his gloves. Young Judy turned and started screaming before falling to the floor and pulling a long red ribbon from her costume._

 _"Blood! Blood! Blood!"_

"Oh my God…" Nick's whisper was followed by giggling from Judy's sisters.

 _When the ribbon ended, Judy pulled out a bottle of red paint and squirted it all over herself while screaming in pain and agony. The camera angle dropped a little._

"This is just hilarious," Nick laughed and pushed Judy with his elbow. She just sighed and kept looking at the screen.

 _"And…death!" The small bunny "died" and flipped her tongue out of her mouth._

"Now I get it. I though you made this up on the spot," Nick whispered again, "Old habits die hard, don't they?"

"Shut up," Judy tilted her ears and replied with a smile.

 _By the time Nick looked back, Judy and the jaguar were under boxes, and a black sheep was dancing around them._

 _"But over time, we evolved," Judy's voice came from under the box, "And moved beyond our primitive savage ways. Now, predator and prey live in harmony."_

 _The sheep threw glitter and ribbons around the other two, who were now dressed in white robes. The cub's uncomfortable grin and Judy's proud expression was just the top of it all._

Nick haven't snorted so hard in a while.

 _"Every young mammal has multitudinous opportunities!" the small rabbit raised a finger and signaled to the lamb._

 _"Yeah," she spoke, "I don't have to cover in a herd anymore. Instead I can be an astronaut!" She tore off the robe, and uncovered an astronaut costume. Music played, and Nick noticed another cub on the far edge of the stage._

"Your composer is very intense." Judy ignored him this time.

 _"I don't have to be a lonely hunter anymore," the jaguar spoke next, "Today, I can hunt for tax exemptions. I'm gonna be an actuary!" Under his robe, he wore a suit. Music, again._

"I like that kid," Nick commented to himself, being impressed by an 8-year-old who'd actually want to do that.

 _"And I can make the world a better place," little Judy stepped forward before tearing her robe, "I am going to be-," she yelled and straightened up even more, "a police officer!"_

 _The camera moved again, indicating that Judy's parents stared at each other in shock._

 _Someone talked off stage, and the bunny in the officer costume moved closer. It couldn't be heard on the tape too well._

"What is that?" Nick confusedly questioned.

"Nothing, a kid was mocking Judy," Jackie answered.

"I handled it," Judy looked up.

"Yeah, I can see that." Nick looked back and pointed at the TV.

 _Judy was back in the middle, jumping as the other children raised a sign behind her._

 _"-and declared that anyone can be anything!" she shouted out to the audience, then bowed. "Thank you, and good night!" she waved at the camera._

 _"Well, that was something, don't you-." Judy's dad turned off the camera._

"I admit, I'll never find anything to top that," Nick raised his paws.

"Nothing tops this," Tessa chuckled.

The tape was still going, with a new video. Judy and her sister were jumping around, doing cartwheels and splits.

"Oh, this is where I helped Flora with her dance class," Judy said.

"Yup, it is," Tessa moved to the TV to change the tapes.

"What's that on your cheek?" Nick pointed his index finger.

"Oh that's…a scratch," Judy gulped. She really didn't want to get into details, especially now that Nick seemed to like Gideon. "I got into a fight."

"And someone clawed your face?" He seemed terrified of the thought, and angry at the same time.

"I survived, it's not a big deal. I kicked them in the face, you know." _Please just drop it._

"That's not the same," he huffed.

"Um," Tessa interrupted, "Wanna see Judy in a diaper?" She was fast forwarding a video of them playing around in a crib.

Nick was still looking at Judy, who couldn't move her gaze either.

"Sure," he finally said, but the video was already playing.

 _"Oh look at them!" a bunny girl exclaimed._

 _Two baby rabbits were rolling around in diapers and tiny shirts, pushing a plush ball to each other. One of them quickly found out that the ball is in fact not small enough to fit in her mouth, and threw it at her sister, who got hit in the head, lost balance and fell._

 _"Judy, no! You don't do that." Two large paws helped sniffing baby Tessa sit up again._

 _Judy rolled over, giggling from joy._

"You're pure evil," Nick mumbled. Judy smiled and stroke his paw once. Protective-Nick was gone again. At least for now.

"Yeah, I wanted you to see that, rest is not that interesting," Tessa moved.

"You rocked that diaper," the fox grinned at Judy.

"Even better than Finnick?"

"Oh, way better," Nick laughed, "But it's a tough choice."

"I really wanna meet this Finnick dude now," Tessa turned to them.

Nick wondered what he was up to. When they finish here, he should give him a call.

"Damn it," Tessa hit the machine. "Jackie, this one's broken."

"What?"

"Oh, too bad," Judy hopped from the bed, "I guess this means we can go find a room for Nick."

"Don't be too happy about this, I'll fix the tape."

"Sure you will," Judy pulled Nick's tie to the door's direction.

"Thank you, ladies," Nick raised a paw and exited after the bunny.

"That was lovely," Judy opened her door, "and it's not even 3 PM." She left the door open, where Nick was standing and gazing around. "Won't you come in?"

"Your dad said I'm not allowed."

"Do you care?" she leaned forward and sighed.

Nick shrugged and stepped in, "No, not really."

"I'll have to ask my mom if there's a free room," Judy took Nick's bag and put it next to the door, "there you can pack out. Now help me."

"Can I go find a free room instead?"

"Nope," she unzipped a side pocket on her own luggage and pulled out some books, "put these on the shelf behind you."

With a groan he did so, then turned back to finish the unloading. His paw caught into something soft and round.

"What…is this?" he pulled it out and held it to Judy, softly giggling.

* * *

 ** _Thanks for reading!  
I'm going on vacation, so the next chapter will have to wait (2,5 weeks maybe?), but I'll try to work on the story and maybe do some illustrations while I'm not writing._**


	6. A short diversion

**_It's been a while, but new chapter! Thanks for all the reviews, follows, favs, you're awesome :)  
In this chapter, Nick and Judy get into some awkward situations, talk about the concept of their pretend relationship, and set plans for the next day.  
Enjoy reading!_**

* * *

"Give me that!" Judy grabbed the small stuffed bunny from Nick and threw it under a pillow that was laying on the edge of her bed. "I didn't say you can search through my bag."

"You wanted me to help you pack out, I don't see the problem," he shrugged, spying the big pocket where the toy came from.

"I give you stuff, and tell you where to put it, but you don't start emptying it," Judy huffed and flipped the pocket's ear shut. "What if you stuck your paws into my underwear?" She had to flinch at the thought.

"I guess, I would have asked you which drawer to put it in."

"You can't be serious," she grimaced again.

"What? Why?"

"My underwear?" She sounded mildly offended by Nick's suggestion.

"It's clean, isn't it? So are my paws," he scoffed. "And I'm a helpful, accepting fox, and not a prude like my charming fake-girlfriend." He pointed at Judy.

"I'm not a prude!" she argued.

"You should come to terms with it and accept what you truly are." He put a paw on Judy's left shoulder which quickly got slapped away.

"Not wanting mammals to touch or see my underwear is not prude."

"Whispering when you're saying the word _underwear_ out loud kind of is, but whatever," he quietly commented with a grin, to what Judy replied with a sharp look and a mouthed 'no'.

"So, do you still want my help, or shall we look for a room for me?" Nick asked, rocking himself a bit and putting his paws in his pockets.

"Turn around," she sighed.

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Nick turned in sync with his rolling eyes and huffed.

"Are you packing all the things I'm not allowed to see right now?" he asked with annoyance, feeling bored.

"Maybe I am," Judy shrugged, sounding as if she lifted some weight. Something fell from her grip and gave a tweet. "Dang!"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"You've got more!" he exclaimed after a short pause and turned back to face the middle of the room. By the time Judy managed to stuff the plush bunnies under a pillow, but a pair of ears were still visible. "Let me see."

"No," she pushed the stuffed ears under the cushion.

"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Nick spoke, "Lots of adults sleep with stuffed toys, you know."

"Like you?" Judy smirked at him.

"No," he said, "But there's nothing wrong with it."

"Right. I'll just assume that you have a stuffed fox that has a shirt with a heart on it," she laughed.

"Will that make you happy?"

Judy shrugged as a response and with a smile, she pulled a jacket from her bag. "Hang this on the door."

"Yes, madam," he sighed and took it from her paws.

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Calling me madam," she replied, "I know you do that when you think I'm being bossy."

" _You know?"_ he asked cynically. "Hah. If I called you that when you are being bossy, I wouldn't have so many nicknames for you."

A plastic ball hit Nick on the back of his head. He pulled his neck down out of surprise and slowly looked back at Judy.

"Oh, looking for a fight, rabbit?" he grinned and stepped forward.

"Watch out," Judy laughed, holding up her fingers. "I know you're ticklish."

"No more than you are."

"I'm not," she said in a deeper voice.

"We'll see about that." With finishing, he launched forward to grab Judy, but the bunny was faster. She hopped over him and pushed him from the back. Nick lost balance for a moment before stepping closer, now facing the door and Judy, who was victoriously smiling. He scoffed, lightly shaking his head. He would've liked if this was the end of their little fight, but Judy jumped again. She grabbed onto Nick and started tickling his arm, which caused him to fall back on the bed behind him laughing.

"Enough! Ugh," he groaned, pushing back the chuckles, "What are you? 5?"

He managed to push Judy's paw away and with his legs he turned himself on top of her and started tickling her all over her torso. The bunny tried to knock him down from herself but constantly failed.

"Stop it!" she cried laughing.

"No chance, Carrots," Nick smiled smugly, "This is what you get for throwing things at me. And tickling me."

"Okay, okay—ahh!" She started to get pains from the tickling feeling. "Nick! I'm sorry, just-"

"What the heck is going on?!" came a sharp yell from the door. Nick straightened his back and looked up, just like Judy, who stopped laughing.

"Oh, umm," Judy began, looking at Nick then back at the now open door. "Hey Peter! Amelia!" She awkwardly waved and nudged Nick to do the same.

"What on earth were you doing?" the bunny called Peter asked with eyes wide open.

"Umm, wrestling?" Judy flinched, knowing there's no right response.

"On your bed?" the girl holding Peter's paw asked, just as frightened as Judy's brother.

"Well, we didn't want to fall on the bed," Nick explained. Judy gasped loud. The fox was not helping the situation.

"That's it. You're out of here," Peter pointed at Nick.

"Look we really were just…tickle fighting." Judy pulled Nick's arm before he could stand up with a sigh.

"Yeah? It sounded a lot like he was tickling you in the wrong places." Peter looked at them angrily.

"Wow. Nice thing to say to your sister." Nick bit his lip and extended a thumb up toward Judy's brother.

"What is wrong with you?!" Judy exclaimed and stood up. "Is it hard to believe that we were playing some innocent game?"

"How dumb do you think I am?" Peter folded his arms.

"Very," Judy huffed.

In the silence, Nick stood up and walked to the door.

"Let's start this again," he extended a paw to Peter, "Nick Wilde, Judy's boyfriend. And you are…?"

"Get your dirty paw away from me, fox," he huffed. Nick tried not to roll his eyes and sighed.

"Interesting name, but I'm sure that's not the one."

"You got some nerve, don't you?"

"Okay, stop it," Judy interrupted. "Peter, get out!"

"Me?" He was offended to see that his sister didn't care about his words at all.

"Yes, you." Judy pushed him out the door. "And I don't want you to just come into my room without knocking in the future."

Peter angrily took his partners paw and walked out. "Come on, Amelia."

Judy shut the door, but she could hear the other bunny girl whispering. She chose to ignore her and walked past Nick, falling to her bed.

"We're never tickle fighting again." She covered up her eyes with one ear.

"You're just saying that because you lost." Nick lightly pushed her legs.

"No, I'm saying it because after this, I'll feel awkward just thinking about it."

"Bunnies really always assume the worst," Nick sat next to her, "If you know what I mean."

"Yeah," she sat back up, "I'll find you a room. Can you put my shirts in the wardrobe and fix the bed?"

"Can't _I_ go find a room?" he yelped. Judy just gave him a tired look. "Fine," he groaned.

"Thanks."

Judy skipped out and closed the door behind herself. Some voices echoed through the hallway, but it was mostly empty. The majority of bunnies must have gone to the festival or were resting somewhere. She looked at herself in a mirror fixed on the wall. Her eyeliner was slightly smudged from the tears of laughter, so she tried fixing it, but only ended up making it worse. She decided she didn't care and headed to find her mom.

"Judy!" She ran into one of her sisters in the elevator. "Oh, what's with your eyes?" The young bunny girl looked even disgusted by the black smudge on Judy's fur.

"Nothing," she pressed the button to the top floor. Her mom was surely walking around outside. "What's up, Ashley?"

"I'm meeting Ned at the festival. He said he'll win me the grand pack of carrots, isn't that sweet?" she sang while pressing her phone.

"He'll win you the what?" Judy asked, confused.

"It's a new thing. If you complete a list of tasks you get points somehow, and win something, a today it's like, a really huge carrot package."

"Oh," Judy nodded, "That really is sweet of him."

"I know, right? Best boyfriend ever! I'm the luckiest bunny," she giggled loud. "Ugh, how's foxy, anyway?"

"His name is Nick." The elevator opened on the ground floor and they both stepped out, but stayed on the inside. "He's fine. Just packing out."

"Yeah, alright. Aaand…let me ask you, are you serious?"

"Oh," the question took Judy by surprise, "Well, I don't know, it's only been, umm, a couple of months. That's not too serious."

"No, I mean…really? A fox?"

"Hey, guess I have a different type," she chuckled awkwardly.

"I thought you couldn't get lower," her sister mumbled.

"What are you saying, Ashley?" Judy put her arms on her hips and looked down at her sister.

"I know you're terrible with boys, but I never thought you'd be so desperate to…you know, get together with someone who's not a bunny."

"Does it make you feel better if you keep stabbing me like that every time we meet?"

"Judy, no, no. I'm not trying to hurt you or anything." Judy felt on her voice that Ashley wasn't all that sincere. "I just want you to be in a healthy relationship, instead of running around with predators."

"Well, I'm in a healthy relationship with a predator, how about that?" She felt the absurdity of the statement, and twitched her nose, but hoped it would be enough for Ashley to drop the conversation.

"We both know you're just in denial," she turned around and walked out. "Have fun though."

Judy was not in the mood to follow her sister. _I'll sort this out later._

She walked to the backdoor and looked around. Her mother was sitting at a table with some others, drinking lemonade and playing cards. Judy slowly approached, dodging a ball flying above her head.

"Oh bother, not this again," an old rabbit hit the table with his palm.

"These are the rules, you can't put a King, you're out."

"Erhm," Judy coughed.

"Oh, hello Judy!" the bunnies greeted her. "Fancy a game?"

"Perhaps later, I need to talk with Mom."

"Of course honey," Bonnie stood up and lay her cards face down on the table, "Don't you peek!"

She walked around the table to her daughter and lead her a few steps away.

"What is it, sweetie- oh dear, Judy! Where you crying?"

"Wha-? Oh no, no!" she remembered her eyeliner. "I just…forgot I had some makeup on and smudged it."

"Is that for sure? Didn't you fight with anyone?" she asked suspiciously.

"Mom, I didn't fight with anyone." Sooner or later she'd hear about what happened anyway, but Judy didn't want to be the one to tell her.

"Where's Nick?" Her voice was more forceful than usually.

"He's fine, we really didn't fight," Judy calmed her mother, "I was actually looking for a room for him to stay in."

"Oh, sure. Let's see." Bonnie hummed for a few seconds. "I think Eddie's room is free, but that's a little far from yours, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Judy muttered. It was on a different floor, in fact. She was surprised that her mother cared about putting Nick closer to her, but she didn't look like she had further suggestions. "Isn't Jackson's free? Or Ronnie's? I haven't seen them around…"

"You're right, Ronnie's not coming!" her mother clapped her paws. "That's that. You can move him in there."

"Great! Thanks," Judy smiled.

"Just get some clean sheets for Nick. And an extra blanket from the cupboard."

"Will do," she waved and ran to the house.

She stopped the elevator on the living room's floor, where they kept sheets and blankets, grabbed what she needed, then hurried back to the lift. She didn't want Nick to stumble across anything embarrassing in her room while she was away for too long.

Meanwhile the fox was walking around in Judy's room. He quickly threw her clothes into the wardrobe after she left and smoothed the cover on the bed. Next up, he tried to check for Wi-Fi, but every single hotspot asked for a password, so he just let his phone fall back into his pocket. He couldn't fight the urge to look around. First, he lifted the pillow from the stuffed bunnies. There were 8 of them, mostly gray or brown, but there was a purple, pink and orange one too. He didn't want to see much more, but he still lifted the one on top. It was a grey bunny with violet buttons for eyes, and with its ripped ears and stuffing hanging out in places, it looked like the oldest one from the group. It had a blue t-shirt, probably made by young Judy, judging by the patchwork. On its stomach, a golden ZPD badge sticker was shining. Nick looked at it for a while and smiled with pride for Judy. She's really come a long way.

After throwing the toy back in its place and covering it, he walked around and looked at the pictures on the walls. The posters weren't so interesting. He didn't recognize most of the artists on them, so he moved closer to the long family portrait and the framed pictures. Some of them were selfies Judy took with her siblings and friends. Others were smaller family portraits, holidays, birthday pictures. On the wall closest to her desk, there were photos of baby Judy and her siblings. He noticed that on quite some of them, Judy was wearing the policeman costume she wore for the talent show.

Some other spots were filled with drawings she must have got from little brothers and sisters, or ones she drew herself. The ceiling was covered with the same fluorescent stickers Nick noticed on the door, and in the middle there was a large circular vent. This must be where the air got in.

His curiosity drove him to the door at the other end of the room. It had a light switch on the right, and when he flicked it, the brightness revealed a bathroom. It had a small bathtub with a curtain running in front of it, a toilet, a sink, a cupboard, now empty. It wasn't as unique as the bedroom. White and pink tiles, small flowery pattern on the mirror above the sink. Everyone must have had these, that's wht he saw in the previous room too. He mouthed a _Wow_ to himself.

The door opened behind him and he heard Judy's voice.

"Looking around?" she asked.

Nick closed the bathroom door and muttered, "Sorry."

"No matter," Judy signaled for him to walk to her. "I found you a room. Bring your things!"

She twirled out under the doorframe and turned right. Nick followed with his small case in his paw. They didn't go far. The white door with the name _Ronnie_ painted on it was only 6 doors away from Judy's room.

With paws full of pillows and covers, Judy tried to get in with help from her elbow, only to fail. Nick reached above her ears and pushed the handle before the bunny gave the door a light kick to make it open. The walls were painted white with the very same color as the door. At the top, a yellow flowery bordure went around. Framed graphic sketches of flowers were hanging on one side, but the other ones were empty. Unlike the other rooms Nick's been into, this bed was smaller, and it stood without pillows or stuffed toys, but there was a fluffy pastel colored carpet under their feet.

"I guess Ronnie is Veronica, then," he looked around and threw her bag on the floor.

"Yup," Judy lay what she was carrying on the bed. "There's a key somewhere, if you want to close the door. Oh, and please try to keep things clean."

"You've been to my house. I keep things clean."

"This is my sister's room. The standards are different." She grabbed the sheet and opened it from its folded form. "Do you need help making the bed?"

"No, I'm fine. But," he held up a finger and pulled his phone from his pocket, "What's the Wi-Fi password?"

"I don't remember," Judy shook her head, "Some of the boys change it all the time anyway. Just use your mobile data."

"Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much it would cost?"

"Didn't you just win a couple thousand dollars yesterday?" She mimicked Nick's voice for the last part.

"Forget it." He started pulling the new sheet over the mattress on the other side of the bed. The bunny helped smoothing out the edges on the end.

"So," Judy took a deep breath, "What do you wanna do next?"

"Sleep," Nick answered and threw the pillow to its place.

"Come on, don't be so lazy!"

"This much activity was enough for today."

"That's such a shame," Judy exaggeratedly sighed, "Because I thought that maybe…you'd like to win a prize."

"What prize? A huge stuffed carrot? Not interested, thank you."

Nick fell onto the bed and closed his eyes, lightly smiling.

"No," Judy chuckled. "It's real carrots!"

"I don't like carrots," he yawned.

"It would be for me!"

He opened just one eye to look up at Judy standing next to him. "Then win it yourself."

"What kind of a boyfriend are you?" She tilted her head a frowned.

"Not a real one," Nick huffed and sat up. "But, if I was a real one, I'd choose not to help my girl with everything, so she could remain strong and independent. Now, please turn down the lights when you leave."

He hit his pillow a few times and lay back, closing his eyes. Judy lightly stomped her feet and bit her lip.

"I ran into one of my sisters…who picked on me for being single before," she continued looking away from Nick.

"And what happened?" he asked.

"She told me that every day there was some kind of a competition, and her boyfriend was going to win for her."

"I see what you want," Nick huffed, "And I still think you should just show that meanie-bunny that you don't need a man to win."

"That's what I thought at first, but," she leaned closer to his head, "We could work as a team."

"Is that even allowed?"

"I don't know, maybe."

"I…don't want to…"

"It's gonna be fun!"

"I'm tired. And my head hurts like hell," he groaned. "Perhaps tomorrow."

"I give you half an hour," Judy stated, "to unpack your things and rest for a while. Then, we're going to the store, to grab you some food, because I'm sure hunger's making you grumpy. And then, we head out to the festival and look around."

"And then," Nick held up a finger, "we come back early and sleep until noon."

"You know what! Alright," Judy agreed. "I'll come back when I'm ready."

"Yeah, you better clean up your face, Joker," he giggled.

"This," she pointed around her eyes, "is because of you."

"Sure. You didn't ask for it."

Judy shoved the side of his pillow and hopped to the door. "Get your beauty sleep."

After she exited, Nick turned to his stomach and buried his face in the pillow. He hasn't been sleeping too much lately and tried to make the most out of the 30-minute nap. He barely fit in the bed, even with his knees bent to the sides. He thought a couple of times if he should move to the comfortable-looking carpet, but ended up staying on top of the bunny-sized bed, and actually got to sleep.

Judy's knocking woke him up. "Can I come in? Nick?"

She entered and shook him by the shoulder. "Wake up, sleepyhead!"

"I am awake," he groaned and lifted his head.

"Then get up and let's get going. Unless of course, you want me to pick the food you'll eat."

Nick pushed himself from the bed, checked for his wallet and phone, and followed Judy outside. He quickly brushed down his fur before he shut the door behind themselves. Walking towards the end of the hallway he looked at a clock hanging from the wall. It read 4:47. Looks like he slept a little over an hour, even though Judy promised him much less.

"What have you been up to?" the fox mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Judy shot him a questioning look.

"You said you'll be back in half an hour," he checked his phone too, just to be sure of the time, "And you're never late, so I'm guessing you had some business done."

"It's harder to borrow car keys around here than you'd think," she waved the small keychain above her shoulder.

"And it took an hour?"

"I talked with bunnies I ran into," she shrugged, "Time flies."

"Aha…Anything interesting?"

Judy held up a finger and waited until the elevator's door was fully closed.

"I'll tell you in the car."

"Hmm, juicy gossips?" Nick winked, semi-interested in rumors involving mammals he didn't know.

"Not really. But I don't want anyone to hear us talking about it."

Nick hummed and looked to the other side of the elevator until they reached the bottom floor. Judy ran out and searched for the right vehicle. A nice four-door black car, parking relatively close to the exit. She already started the engine by the time Nick got inside to the passenger seat.

"So, where are we going?"

"Bunny Burrow Supermarket," she quickly fixed the mirror and started driving. "It's not far away. Do you need anything else?"

"Like?"

"I thought you might have forgotten to pack something."

Nick shook his head, even though that was most likely the case. He started searching for a good music station, but gave up.

"What did you want to tell me?" he lay back in his seat and looked at Judy.

"Oh, of course! You're gonna love it," she laughed. "So, I was walking around the living room, and I overheard my sisters talking about you."

"Which sisters?"

"You haven't met them, they're around 16, 17. And, they're actually really into you…in a creepy kind of way."

"I don't want to know what you mean by that."

"It's nothing disgusting, if you were thinking that. They were planning to 'seduce you away from me', because…how was it…they think you're 'so freakishly hot'. I mean, they're ridiculous…," she laughed.

"Is that your way of telling me that you don't find me attractive?" the fox grimaced at her.

"Is that all you heard out of what I just said?" she raised an eyebrow, not impressed by Nick's reaction.

"Why couldn't they think I'm…umm…freakishly hot?"

"Nick, they're bunnies," Judy laughed.

"And?"

"And? Bunnies don't…they just…can't be attracted to other species."

"Well, bunnies don't go to work for the police."

"That's different," she looked at him again, "What I was saying, is that it's funny how kids nowadays will make trends out of pretending to be what they're not. And before you say anything," she noticed him opening his mouth, "They're my sisters. I know they just wish they were into predators so they'd stand out."

"What I was going to say, is that you're pretending the exact same thing all week," he offered a grin.

"I haven't thought about it like that…" she bit her lip, then shivered, "Woo, It would be weird. This must be how my family feels right now."

"Oh, hey," Nick gasped, "Don't tell me Miss All Love is Equal is disturbed by the thought of interspecies relationships."

Judy rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue at the remark. "Others do what they want. That won't make me want to join them."

"Anyway, there's no way rabbits are the only exceptions under this thing."

"Ugh, if it's so important to you, then surely my sisters are deeply in love with you," she sighed.

"It's not that," Nick shook his head, "I don't understand why you think it's such an impossible concept. Mutual affection starts with seeing someone, and thinking, 'Hmm, that's a fine looking mammal'. That can happen if you're not the same species. I believe every animal is capable of that."

"You're making sense, but," Judy smiled, "are you saying that you just walk on the street every day and think like that?"

"No, of course not. But, for example, I go to work with you every day, and I can tell that you are pretty."

"Really?" She got told that often, mostly by others, but she always assumed it was directed at her outfit or makeup.

"Or maybe I'm just used to your face too much."

"Ha-ha," Judy mocked.

"Now is the part when you say 'Oh Nick, how flattering! I must say you're the most gorgeous fox I've laid eyes on,'" he said in a high voice.

"That's not how I sound like! And you need sleep…"

"No, you need to admit that you were wrong, and bunnies have eyes for other mammals too."

They pulled over to a large parking lot in front of the market. Judy was looking around for empty spots.

"Okay, if it doesn't work with me," Nick began thinking, "How about those tiger dancers?"

"What?" Judy laughed, stopping the car near an entrance.

"You have to admit those guys are easy on the eyes."

"Are you doing this with males too all the time?"

"Why not? Don't you look at girls and admit they look nice?"

They both exited the car.

"Okay, fair point," she said, "But I really can only think of rabbits I've found like…handsome."

"You said I was handsome just this morning," he pointed out.

"I meant your attire."

"That just crushed my little soul," he gasped and picked up a basket as they entered the building.

"Huh, you know what?" Judy stopped for a moment, smiling up at him, "I guess…you are good-looking. For a fox."

"Wow, that was halfway there, Carrots. Nice," he headed in.

"Now will you stop bothering me with this?"

"Did I bother you?"

"Yeah," she led him to the left side of the market where they stored food.

At the start of the aisles lots of fruits and vegetables were laying in baskets and on stands. Most of their signs read below the name and price; _From Hopps Family Farm._ Walking past, some pastas were standing on shelves, than grains and seeds. Judy stopped and let Nick ahead.

"It's better if you search for what you need, I'll just wait here." The fox raised an eyebrow at her. "Go on," she smiled again.

"Are you still afraid of pred food?"

"I'm not afraid! It's just gross…" she explained.

"You don't have to eat it, just come along."

Judy shivered out of disgust while Nick was browsing through different insects. He stuffed the basket full of cans, packages, even some grasshopper chips the bunny didn't dare to look at.

"You know," he looked at Judy while dropping some tuna rolls next to the other food, "I read an article once that said everyone's omnivorous."

"Here I am, living proof that's not true." She was uncomfortably gazing around.

"I admit, that spider pizza was not a good start, but if you tried something else, I think you'd like it."

"What makes you think that?"

"Because it's good. And some actually taste like fruit if it's made well."

"It could also poison me."

"They argued about that too," Nick continued, "And maybe a while back, but not today. Unless you're allergic."

"I'm still not too keen on the idea."

"Okay, listen," he picked up a frozen bag of seafood, "This is luxury stuff here. Your mother said someone can cook well, so what if I ask them? Would you try it?"

"No," Judy frowned back.

"As payback?" he suggested. "I ate that green soupy thing."

"Nick…"

"Hey, this is premium quality, you won't get ill from it."

"Stop pushing me, I don't want to try it!"

"Fine," he dropped the bag back in its place.

"You can buy it for yourself," she pointed at it and looked after Nick.

"Fish are pricey. I won't buy it just for myself," he walked over.

"Don't be so childish," she followed him.

"I think that's all, we can go pay."

"Come on, buy something that Uncle Carl can cook for you. These cans can't be that good…" she tried pulling him back, but he was stronger and easily escaped from the grip.

"I always eat these anyway," he shrugged and continued stepping towards their exit.

It wasn't like Judy didn't know that. From time to time, Nick would get himself some street food, maybe even visit a restaurant, but when he was home alone, he was eating the same microwave food and noodles all the time. She couldn't understand how he managed to keep fit with terrible eating habits like that, but predator biology was always a mystery in front of her, so she never asked.

"It would be nice if you'd eat some actual food with us," she tried, "You know, just to fit in."

"I'm sure no one will mind," he shrugged at her again.

She rolled her eyes and prepared herself with striking her ears down. "Okay. If I have a bite from your food, will you please get something normal?"

Nick's eyes opened fully and gave one agreeing nod. "Alright. And since you asked so nicely, why don't you choose."

"Because I don't know what these are like," Judy stared at the frozen seafood, still a little disgusted at the sight of dead fish.

"What's appealing?" Nick walked back and leaned next to her.

"Well," she picked up a green bag with a bright picture on its front, "This bear looks happy to have that fish…"

"That's salmon," Nick informed her.

"And is it good?"

"Umm…yeah, how much it is?" he took it from Judy, looked at the back and lightly frowned.

"You can choose something else, I just picked it up-"

"It's fine. I'll buy this," he threw it on top of the basket. "Do you need anything else?"

"No, we can go if you're ready."

Nick noticed that unlike the festival, this place lacked in bunnies. Maybe they preferred buying directly at the farm, but it still seemed odd to him. The cashier was a very nice old goat who even gave them some collectible stickers after checking their items.

The sky got more colorful by the time they started driving back to Judy's home.

"We're late for dinner," she tapped her fingers on the wheel. Nick didn't react. With eyes half-closed, he tilted his head back and stared at the top of the car.

"I wanted to ask this," he muttered, "Do you really know everyone's names?"

"Yup. It's not that hard."

"But like…everyone's full names and their relations to the others in the family?"

"It's not witchcraft. Bunnies have good memory," Judy chuckled.

"Still."

"It's mostly just the close family. Not many aunts and cousins and godparents come around, so those are easy to remember. For the others," Judy inhaled to pause mid-sentence, "They're mostly my siblings. And growing up with them you can't help but remember everything. I'm sure you'd do that if you had them too," she smiled at him.

"Hmm. Guess that's right," Nick tilted his gaze.

They slowly arrived at the burrow. The dinner was still going on in the dining hall, at least that's what the lights indicated. As they got closer, it was visible that some bunnies were walking over to the festival, in the direction of colorful lanterns.

"I'll leave the car here. Let's eat something." Judy stopped the engine and hopped out.

It took all of Nick's willpower to exit the car without complaining. It was a long day, and the seats were almost too comfortable to leave.

"Where have you been?" he heard someone ask Judy after he shut the car's door.

"We went shopping with Nick," she explained to a group of bunnies.

The fox covered his yawn and nodded at them. He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket.

 _Fin: How's rabbitville?_

 _Fin sent a picture._

"Isn't it just weird that Steph's having babies?" Judy got into talking with her siblings while he stared at his lockscreen.

"I just hope they'll have her eyes!" a girl exclaimed. "With Bertie's fur? They'll be gorgeous!"

"Gosh, you're right," Judy gasped too.

Nick opened his messages. Finnick sent him a selfie with a lady whose face was in the shadows so it wasn't visible. He quickly texted back _Cool_ , then locked his phone again.

"Got everything you need, Nick?" a male pointed at the plastic bag hanging from his paw.

"Uh, yeah."

"Be honest, are those bugs really delicious for predators?" someone else asked him.

"It's not only bugs," Nick shrugged, "We just talked about these with Judy," he put his free paw over her shoulder, "And she's gonna try some."

"What? You're kidding!" a bunny in a pink overall shot a questioning look at Judy.

"One bite!" she held up a finger and looked at Nick, "I'm having one bite, from some _fish_. Because Nick tried vegetables."

"I don't envy you," her sister huffed, "Okay, you guys get something to eat. See you later!"

"Bye!" Judy waved as the group walked to the road and headed to the field. Then she looked back at Nick, "I'm starving."

"Yeah, me too," Nick agreed.

Bunnies were flowing out the main gate with very few gaps, so it took a few minutes of waiting to get inside. The hall was mostly empty. Very few were still eating, but more rabbits walked around cleaning the place. They fought their way to the bottom of the stairs and ran to the kitchen.

"I'm sure there's something left…Mom! Dad!"

"Judy! Where have you been?" her mother turned, "We thought you'd sit with us again."

"We just came back from the store."

"It's almost 8," Stu pointed at his watch.

"Traffic," Judy shrugged.

"Nick, I can show you how to use the stove if you want to fix something to eat. Or you can make a sandwich," Bonnie gestured around a big cupboard, most likely filled with bakery products.

"I'll just borrow the microwave, Mrs. Hopps, but thanks anyway," he picked out two packages of pre-made pasta and with a free finger pointed at one of the devices he noticed on a counter.

"Oh dear," she smiled awkwardly, "Sure. Just press the green button on the side."

Nick nodded and walked around Judy's parents. He had to duck to properly see the buttons on the microwave, but eventually managed to set it for 10 minutes.

"What's left is outside, Judy. Come along, I'll have to clean up some tables." Judy followed her mother, and Nick almost yelped out loud for her to stay. Staying alone with her dad was something he wasn't looking forward to do after this morning. He wasn't sure if remaining quiet or talking was better so he just turned halfway to the microwave and watched his food turn around inside.

"Nicholas," the rabbit cleared his throat. Nick tried not to flinch or sigh and turned.

"Yes?"

"We've been talking with Bonnie and, uhmm, you're not so bad."

"Uh-huh," Nick gritted his teeth, to keep all the possible remarks unsaid.

"That didn't come out as I wanted," Stu coughed, "I want to say…I was rude this morning. And I apologize. If Jude chose to be with you…she must have all the right reasons. I know you're a good friend to her, and...If you two are happy like this, it's fine."

"Thank you, sir," Nick nodded, slightly surprised to her Judy's father say that. Though, he appreciated it and would've enjoyed if the older rabbit went on.

"Now," he clapped his paws, "Bonnie said we could use some time together, so, how about you come around and help me and the boys with some work?"

"Oh," Nick inhaled sharply. He knew refusing would be rude but he also didn't want to work around the Hopps farm during his vacation. It was only an excuse that he was terrible with any chores that were considered manly work. "I'm not sure I would be a great help," he laughed awkwardly, "I, umm, never really been on a farm."

"Don't worry about that, it's nothing hard."

"Are you sure, Mr. Hopps? Because I can tell you, I-" The beeping of the microwave cut him off, as well as Judy entering with a large plate filled with grilled veggies.

"Hey guys," she said with a probing tone and sat at the large counter in the middle, "Everything's fine?"

"Yes, Jude. Nick and I just agreed that he'll come help around tomorrow," her father informed her.

"Oh, really?" Judy looked at Nick who seemed just as surprised as she was. "That's cool."

The fox sat opposite to her at the counter and started eating. "Isn't it?"

"Oh boy," Stu walked to the dining hall, "I'll help your mother, you two eat up!"

"Okay, Dad. Love you!"

Nick stared at the hall's direction until Judy's father was not visible. "You need to break my arm."

"What?!"

"I don't want to help around the farm. This was supposed to be my vacation," Nick whined.

"Wait, you didn't suggest that?" Judy stared at him with ears slowly rising, "It was my dad?"

"Yeah, and now I'll have to plant carrots or something."

"Why didn't you just tell him you didn't want to?" she questioned and took a bite from a carrot.

"Because he didn't ask, he just invited me, like it was already decided. And I don't want him to hate me just because he thinks I'm dating his daughter," he leaned closer.

"Shhh," Judy hushed him. "You'll survive then."

"I won't, Judy, I'm not even good at helping."

"Good thing you're a police officer," she shrugged at him with a half-smile.

"You know what I mean. What if he asks me to…I don't know, fix some machine, and it explodes on me." He almost hit Judy with his wild gestures, but the bunny's expression remained the same.

"You're being ridiculous. And he won't ask you to do that, he'll probably give you a ride on the tractor and ask you to bring a basketful of apples home."

"Ugh. I hope," he said and slurped in his pasta.

After they both finished, Judy found some cake in a fridge, so they had a slice each.

"So," Nick swallowed his last piece, "Do you want to head out to that festival?"

"Kinda," Judy pushed her plate aside. "I'm really tired."

"Me too, I thought I'll go to sleep. I'll have to talk with Finnick too," he groaned and checked his phone.

"Go ahead," she stood up, "We have all week. I think I'll still check in. Just for an hour."

"Okay…" The other images Nick received didn't load. "You sure there's no good Wi-Fi?"

"Give me that," she reached for the mobile, tapped and typed something, then handed it back.

"That was fast," he scrolled through the messages. "Didn't you say you didn't know the passwords?"

"My brother, Max made some account or whatever, and if you log into that, it just works."

"And you didn't want me to know that?"

"Not really. But if you're staying here you can play on your phone."

"Oh thank you for letting me. You are truly generous," he smirked.

"Shut up," Judy smiled and headed out the door, "Tell Fin I say hi!"

"Sure thing," Nick gave her the thumbs up, which she couldn't see as she turned around and skipped up the stairs.

Finnick sent some more pictures of himself with girls and some of them showing how much he had to drink. Nick gave him a call, but at first all he heard was loud music coming from speakers.

"What is it?" Finnick shouted in the phone.

"It's Nick."

"Yo, what's up? Coming home already?" He was barely audible.

"No," Nick spoke louder this time. "What are you doing? I saw the pictures."

"Neon Scars, Nocturnal," he gulped on some liquid, "Got in for free, that dumb guard didn't even look down!"

"Hah, finally you put your looks to good use," he yawned.

"Dude, I found a guy. VIP tickets to the Globe. Looks 100% genuine."

"Nice," he approved, "Just don't get arrested while I'm not around."

"No worries, popo," he grunted. "Anyone braided your fur yet?"

"No," he chuckled, "one of them wanted to."

"Any hot chicks?"

"They're all rabbits, Fin."

"Officer Toot-toot's fine. Last time I saw her."

"I'm pretending to be her boyfriend, don't you remember? She says hi, by the way."

"I don't remember anything from the last couple days, to be honest."

"Good for you," Nick shivered and yawned again, "Know what? Gotta go, have fun."

"What, little Nicky's going to sleep?" Finnick burst out laughing.

"I haven't slept all weekend," he told him, "You neither."

"Two words bro; Red Bull."

"Anyway-" Nick sighed and immediately got cut off.

"Oh damn it! Cops are here, I gotta go," Finnick hastily whispered into the phone, and hanged up.

"What the…?" Nick stared at his screen for a couple of moments, wondering what Fin got into, then headed to the elevators to get to his room.

The building seemed empty. For a second he felt like he should go to join Judy, but again, decided it was better to rest. After 20 minutes of agony in the small shower, he searched for his pyjamas, than realized he left them home, along with apparently many more necessary things. Finally, he climbed into the bed in his boxers and checked his mail on the phone. Mostly nothing new. Clawhauser posted some pictures of his donuts and coffee, enough to fill his first page on the news feed. And alert from the ZPD came, informing him that there's only 6 days left of his week off. Again Clawhauser, sent him some videos, he thinks are funny. Turned out, they really were. About half as much as the ones in the suggestion column. A couple hours and many videos later, Nick finally fell asleep, twisted in the covers.

* * *

 ** _Thanks for reading!  
Feedback is appreciated._**


	7. Efficient work

_**Thanks for the reviews, likes, follows! :)  
My last month has been about work and family vacation, so I didn't have much time to write.**_

 _ **When I planned the second day, it was really the afternoon/evening that mattered to the story, but I didn't want to skip right to that.  
This chapter is shorter, it's more like a filler, so I wouldn't have to begin the day so late. It introduces someone who will stick around later though.  
I hope you'll still enjoy it, the next two chapters will be much longer and more exciting (at least I hope you'll see it that way).**_

* * *

Nick woke up at 9. Despite the bed being short and the mattress way too soft, he had to admit this was the best sleep he got in weeks. After laying around and turning a few more times, he sat up on the bed and reached for his suitcase to grab some clothes. He noticed the edge of white paper slid inside under the door. He suspiciously walked over and picked it up. It was a note from Judy: _Waiting for you in the living hall._

He wondered when she could've left it there. Probably hours ago. Suddenly he remembered he had to meet up with Judy's father and he must be very late. Jumping into his jeans, he stroked his fur with a free paw and grabbed a shirt that he finished buttoning as he stepped out the door.

Squeezing in the elevator with fifteen or so bunnies had to be the most awkward moment of his stay, even though the lineup was stellar already. Out of luck, Nick managed to stand next to some rabbits who looked like they were scared of him. An accidental step on his tail, a mumbled ouch, and one of them jumped back, raising her paws to her neck. Nick tried not to take offense in it, although he felt like he had every right to. He hated when mammals looked at him this way, and certainly didn't want to experience this situation many more times during his stay. So after a moment of silence he used to oppress his feelings, he was ready to take a friendly tone with these new strangers. Unfortunately, the elevator stopped right then, and the bunnies ran out to the hallway. With a groan, Nick slowly followed.

The huge area in the middle of the floor was even more crowded than last time he's been there. He didn't mind though. After the silent night he spent in the burrow, the mix of music coming from different phones, children laughing, and hundreds of rabbits chatting made him feel comfortable. It didn't help him spot Judy, on the other hand.

"Hey, excuse me," he stopped three boys stepping out of the room, "I'm looking for Judy."

The one standing closest to Nick hesitantly spoke. "I saw her around there," he gestured to the far end of the spiraling hall, "Just turn right, she'll be sitting somewhere."

"Thanks," Nick huffed, even though it wasn't much help.

He slowly followed the curved wall and looked around while walking. He's never seen so many books in his life. Or board games, for that matter. Now he understood why Judy had so few personal belongings. With so much things to share, why would she spend her money on such things?

"Nick!" Judy's voice came from farther away, and Nick spotted her standing up from a sofa. He returned the call by raising a paw and waited for her to arrive at his spot. "Come on quickly, I'll drive you to Dad."

"And good morning to you too," he smiled and followed her out.

"It's hardly morning." Judy hurried to the elevator. "Shame you missed the opening party last night. This was the best I've been to!"

"How long did you stay out?" he asked out of curiosity.

"I don't know. I came back around 3, maybe a little sooner," she shrugged.

"And you're up already?"

As response, she glared at him with a look that seemed to judge him for sleeping in despite going to bed early, instead of actually answering. Judy has always been an early bird.

"I have a little surprise for you," she giggled and pressed the button to bring them to the kitchen.

"What is it? I don't have to go with your dad after all?"

"No," she lightly pushed him, "You'll see."

"Did you buy me something?"

"No."

"Did you _win_ me something?"

"No."

"Hmm, alright then, did you make me something?" he lowered his head.

"…no," Judy shook her head.

"Oh, you did. And, we're headed to the kitchen, did you make me food?" his ears shot up.

"What if I did?" she bit her lower lip and continued to the end of the corridor. "At least you'll have something to eat that's not entirely made of dead bugs and plastic."

"Mother hen," Nick coughed with a smirk. He actually appreciated Judy thinking about him.

"I'm starting to regret cooking up a thank you gift," Judy sighed and took a package from a cupboard.

"Thank you gift, huh?" Nick reached for the package that his friend was holding out in front of herself.

"Yeah," she handed it over, "You really didn't have to come, and you still did. And, I figured, I should appreciate that a little more. It must be exhausting, and I don't want you to hate me for it by Sunday."

"That is most unlikely," he let out a soft chuckle before looking through what Judy has packed. "Pancakes, sandwiches, is this coffee? Wow Carrots, you really outdid yourself."

"I hope it's still good," she smiled, "Now, we better hurry," she clapped her paws and guided Nick towards the door.

"I'm sure they have time to wait for me to finish this," he remained still.

Judy took a deep breath and turned to face him. "I was to wake you up 2 hours ago."

"Why didn't you?" Nick asked, taking a bite from a small toast.

"I peeked inside, and you were still asleep, and you were hugging your tail, and all-"

"I don't hug my tail," Nick interrupted.

"I just felt bad for you," she said. "I wanted you to get the sleep you need, but now that you're awake we really should hurry up."

"Ugh, fine," he looked around himself, "I'll eat this on the ride."

"Come on," Judy hurried out.

They walked to the surface, where with no hesitation, Judy jumped inside a small truck. The backseats, and presumably also the trunk, were filled with wooden boxes that were still empty. She didn't pull over to the road they used before, but took a turn to ride through the field behind the burrow. Nick was glaring out the window, listening to Judy, who talked about what her dad and brothers planned for the day, and that she'll be staying nearby, helping out at a small booth where they sell food and newspaper with others.

It took 5 minutes and they spotted Stu and the other rabbits. "Take some boxes from the back," Judy pointed behind them. The engine was still on, as she seemed eager to continue after Nick got out. "It'll be fun. I'm picking you up later and we can go to the festival, is that okay?"

"Will you care if I say I want to leave sooner?" he smirked back.

"Oh, don't be such a baby," she clicked her tongue. "Call me if it's that terrible," she looked at him like she meant it.

"Will do," Nick shut the door and grabbed three boxes before Judy drove away.

He squinted to look for Judy's father. He just walked inside what seemed to be a storage building. Next to the house, a group of bunnies were stacking boxes and building something to its side. As he approached them, he waved at the others who were working on the field. When Nick got to the building, he wanted walk straight inside, but a voice made him stop.

"Oh, look who's honored us with his presence." Nick's instinct would have told him to shrug off, what was clearly meant to be an insult, and still, he felt like it was the fact that Judy asked him not to be rude with anybody, that kept him from making a remark. "Slept well?"

Still holding the boxes, Nick bit his tongue and answered in the calmest voice he could manage. "Yes, thanks for asking. I'm Nick, and you would be…?"

"Tony," the bunny answered right away.

"Joey" "Daniel" Came two voices from behind the piles of boxes.

"Well, now that we met," Nick began, "I guess I came to help you with…whatever you're doing." He glanced over to the boxes, all filled with vegetables and colored with stamps.

"We're finishing up," Tony said, "Don't need your help here," he nodded his head in the other direction.

"Then I better-"

"Nick! Finally," Stu Hopps stepped out the door behind them, "I thought I heard you. Judy had a problem with waking you up then."

"Oh, no," Nick gasped and shook his head.

"What took so long? I told her you should come around 7." He seemed more confused than annoyed.

"Yeah, and we did, but…" he rocked himself in the direction where Judy drove, "Car troubles."

"Car troubles?" Judy's father's eyes widened.

"That's right. Something with the engine," the fox kept nodding. "Judy wanted to just walk, but…I had to fix it. Now, it's better," he laughed.

"I suppose you're good with cars," Stu smiled at him and nodded back.

With little to no thinking Nick flicked a paw and answered, "I don't mean to brag, sir, but cars have always been my thing, I know their tricks. I'm more familiar with them than with a farm."

"Sure. I have the perfect job for you, then."

Nick lost confidence. There's no way these rabbits have a garage with cars to fix, right? That's what he thought. Bad habit, telling small lies for a little sympathy, but if he miscalculated this time, he knew he was screwed. "Do you, really?"

"Yeah, come follow," Stu turned and walked back through the gate. The building was much bigger than it seemed from the outside. Many boxes and sacks stocked in each corner, right next to machines that Nick had never seen before. "Charlie over there is fixing up the old combine. He could use your help."

"Ugh, I'm not sure that…that thing is the same as-"

"Charlie!"

White ears shot up from behind the large machine, and Charlie stepped out. "Yeah, dad?" He was better built than the bunnies Nick previously saw. It seemed unnatural, for a rabbit to have muscles so well defined. He looked at Nick with a strange expression that he couldn't quite understand, then stepped over to them.

"This is Nick, he's a good mechanic too," Stu pointed at him.

"Mechanic might not be the appropriate word," he chuckled and looked at the younger bunny with the twisted eyebrows.

"Anyway, he's here to help you."

"Dad, I can…do this on my own," Charlie mumbled then turned to Nick, "No offense. I just work better alone."

"If you didn't need help that thing would be working right now," Stu stated and pointed at the green combine.

"It's broken. _I_ shouldn't waste my time on it," he lightly stomped.

"That's just silly, you go, figure out what's wrong," Stu lightly hit Nick on the back and left before either of them could have said something.

Charlie guided his gaze over Nick, "So…Not a mechanic?"

"Officer," Nick replied.

"Yeah, I know," the bunny sighed, "Where did my father get the idea?"

"I fixed a car. This morning," he followed Judy's brother back to the combine.

"Is that true?" There was something in his voice that made Nick uncomfortable. Like this little white rabbit saw right through him. "You can say, I won't tell on you." He was way too confident that he knew right. With a smile he sat on the edge of the broken vehicle.

"No," the fox whispered and rolled his eyes.

"Tsk. Then why lie, if you don't mind me asking."

"I needed to think of something that wouldn't make him hate me."

"Oh, because in the big city, liking cars must be a good point with the fathers. And, you need that for being late," he smirked. Nick shot a cross look at Charlie. He couldn't decide if he liked or hated him. He felt like with a little more talking he could figure out what's really going on with Judy. "And to make up for yesterday's surprise, of course."

"You want a freaking Junior Detective badge?" Nick hissed back.

Charlie sighed and turned back to the combine. "Did you also lie about wanting to help?" he asked while searching through a box filled with tools.

"To be clear, I never said I wanted to help."

"And yet you're here," Charlie looked up at Nick, who was left speechless. Not that he had much of a chance at replying with the bunny quickly continuing, "You don't seem like the guy who cares about challenging himself just for fun, more like, proving himself. Maybe," he hummed. "Not to yourself, of course. You don't care about being handy at a farm. You said you don't want my dad to hate you, but that's not the real motive, is it?" Nick bit his tongue. He didn't know where Charlie was going with this. "Judy asked you, didn't she?"

"Not exactly," Nick smirked.

"But she's the one who wants you to get along with the family," the bunny held up a finger.

"You're right about that," Nick clicked his tongue and wandered closer, "I know it's important to her. I have to play along. She's done the same for me countless times."

Charlie nodded knowingly and smiled, "You really must love each other."

Nick pulled his eyebrows, tilting his head lightly to the side then back. "Yeah," he said, "something along the lines."

"So," Charlie patted the side of the machine, "Wanna take a look at this?"

"What's wrong with it?" the fox asked and started looking around the huge combine.

"No idea," came the answer. "Something must be wrong with the paddles inside…or maybe the whole interior. One day it just broke down, not cutting, not stirring…the whole thing is junk."

"Why not call a professional if you don't know how to fix it?"

"Because it's over 60 years old, so no one knows how it works. Also, we don't use it much anyway, so dad doesn't want to spend money on it."

"I see," Nick huffed, "Then what are you doing with it?"

"Blindly changing some gears and screws and hoping for the best," Charlie gave a small bow with the head.

"I can do that…it doesn't sound so bad," Nick shrugged and pulled a plier from the bag laying by their feet.

"Be my guest."

Judy drove for another few minutes to get to the booth. It was not too big, neither was it small. It stood next to a relatively busy road, just outside of the town center. Tessa and Marie were sitting in the shade, slurping lemonade while Henry and Matt were busy with the customers.

"We could use your help girls!"

"We can switch in an hour," Marie replied, "Let the ladies get some rest."

"Hello guys," Judy walked over.

"Hey Judes," Matt greeted, "I don't suppose you want to paint the sign for another hour."

"I'd love that," Judy glared at her sisters below a tree. "Blue with white letters?"

"Yeah," Henry answered and handed a bag full of celeries to an old bunny, "Have a good day."

"Where'd you leave Romeo?" Tessa questioned her sister as she sat up and lifted her sunglasses.

"Who?" Judy's ears shot up, then quickly corrected herself, "Oh, Nick? I dropped him off by Dad."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they're just rebuilding the old shed, that's what Steven told me," said Judy. "Maybe he'll make friends with them."

"For sure," Henry laughed.

"What's so funny? Don't you think they'll like him?" Judy asked in an offended voice.

"No, it's not that," Matt joined in, "Just the way you assume they'll be besties by the afternoon is adorably optimistic."

"And naïve," Henry added, turning his head back at the girls.

"Oh you two shut up," Marie climbed closer to Judy and dragged Tessa along, "How about you tell us about your night."

"Nothing to tell," Judy chuckled and started painting the wooden sign.

"Come on, was he awake when you got back?" Tessa asked impatiently.

"I didn't check."

"What? You said you would!"

"No," Judy shook her head, "I nodded at my drunk sisters' stupid suggestion, so they would stop bothering me with their terrible ideas."

"Okay whatever," Tessa flicked her wrist, "Are you dragging him along tonight?"

"Yes," she shrugged.

"What are you going to wear?" Marie leaned closer.

"This," Judy pulled the collar of her shirt and continued dipping the brush into the paint can.

"You must be joking!"

"Is this not elegant enough for the barn party?" Judy rolled her eyes.

"It's not cute enough for the marriage booth," Tessa bit her lip. For the last four years, a marriage booth was always present at the festival. No real priest, not even a notary. They'd just print a colorful paper that says the couple's names on it, take a funny picture in clip on veils and bowties and hand out plastic rings.

"Stop it!" Judy smacked the paintbrush on the sign and blushed at the same time.

"You're overthinking it, it's just fun. Not even real papers…"

"It's the implication that I'm uncomfortable with…" It might would be fun, but she was already worried about Nick getting the wrong idea. She'd never suggest joking around about this.

"Ugh! It doesn't mean anything. I got 'married' with Betty too," Marie laughed.

"That's different. That's…" Judy gulped, "That's friendship and fun."

"What, if you weren't dating your best friend, you'd marry him?"

Judy froze. He probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Judy asking him. And she wouldn't have asked him if he needed to come over as a _friend_. Now, with all the pretending she was feeling uncomfortable, and second-guessed herself every minute. Maybe it was last night's chat with her sisters that made her unsure, but she got herself up in the girlfriend act. It was almost like, she really looked at Nick differently.

"No, I wouldn't."

"That was a long pause," Matt teased while stocking newspapers. "Was he that much better of a guy before you started living together?"

"We do not live together," Judy turned.

"Good for you. Boys are messy," Marie stated. "Last night, Jake dropped all of his dirty clothes on my makeup table. He's terrible. I don't know how we'll raise babies…"

"Is there something we don't know about?" Tessa glanced over her sister's belly.

"No," Marie replied. "I wish."

"And what, he doesn't want to?"

"Not really," Marie frowned. "Not yet."

"I'm sorry, Mar," Judy looked up from the sign she was slowly finishing.

"What about you guys?" the oldest sister smiled at them.

"Still not interested," Tessa shrugged and slurped.

"Same."

"Really, Judy, could you even have kits?"

"Excuse me?" Judy gasped.

"I mean…not you like you," Marie explained herself with small gestures of her paws, "You, as in you and Nick."

"Ew," Judy mouthed and twitched her nose.

"You guys have a nice fulfilling relationship," Tessa remarked.

"No, no," Judy continued, "We don't…I'm not…having kits with him." She gave an awkward chuckle. "We're dating. It probably won't last long anyway."

"Oh, why not?"

"Umm, because," _we're breaking up next Monday_ , "Work, and stuff like that."

"You'd be a cute crime fighting married couple though," Tessa laughed. Judy blushed and softly giggled back. _Oh please no._

"And you'd have cute babies," Marie joined in, "Like fluffy red bunnies."

"That actually sounds terrifying," Judy pointed out. She looked up and spotted two figures moving closer from the barn further away. "Sweet cheese and crackers…"

"What?" Tessa turned around. "Oh my God!" she blurted.

A bunny and a fox, soaked in some black liquid were slowly walking up to the booth.

"Is that Charlie?" Judy asked.

"Yup," came the answer, "He's been fixing up a car or something…"

"Hello everybody," Charlie greeted, "We'll just borrow the hose and be off." With that he grabbed what he needed and untangled it next to the tree.

"What happened to you?" Judy questioned Nick, trying to hide her laughter. His fur was black, or more like a dark blue color. The sticky liquid flowed from his head to his shoulders and made his head look much smaller than it normally appeared.

"I tried to help," Nick stood still in front of Charlie.

"He actually banged a hole into the engine tank," the bunny explained, "That's oil."

"Nice," Matt nodded at them from the booth.

"You had enough for today, then," Judy looked up at Nick, paintbrush still in her paw.

"Of course not," Nick laughed. "Your dad told us to clean up, then go back a build a house or some-"

"Shed," Charlie interrupted, "And that's gonna work out a lot better. Okay Nick, you stand there," he pointed to the paved roadside and opened the water. "Good news is," he continued a little louder while spraying the water over the fox, "Dad finally accepted that that monstrosity was beyond fixing."

"Thanks Nick, you're our hero," Henry shouted at him.

"Don't mention it." Nick covered his face to keep the beam out when he was talking. The oil was slowly soaking off, flowing into the sewers running next to the road.

By the time the stains were washed clean, Judy also finished the sign. It wasn't as simple as her brothers had planned. She added a few carrots and smiley faces to the sides and painted a border. It was almost completely dry, so she stood up to hang it.

"There," she wiped her brows, "What do you think?"

"Oh, you did that by yourself?" Nick stepped behind her and rested his wet elbow on her shoulders. "I absolutely love the shading on that carrot."

"No," Judy laughed, "does it look good?"

"I think so."

"Great," she hopped back to the booth, where now her sisters switched places with the boys. "Have fun building the shed!"

"Really?" Nick mouthed, stepping backwards.

Judy just rolled her eyes and shoved her ears up as she stacked some vegetables.

Nick was bluffing, and she could tell. Was he having the time of his life? Most certainly not. But it would be a lie, to say that he hated it. She heard him talking with Charlie, Henry and Matt while she was organizing things around the booth, and he actually seemed happy to chat with them. Maybe she was right. He was on the road to make friends with her family. But one thing was for sure; she didn't make him feel extraordinarily burdened. At least not for now.

She sighed. It was still a long day, and an even longer week ahead.

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading! Feedback is always appreciated.**_

 _ **The next chapter will show a little more of Nick helping out, then later they'll head out to see what the festival looks like.**_


	8. Unexpected

_**I should stop making promises about when I'm going to post the new chapter, right? -.- Sorry for the long wait. I rewrote this whole thing twice, I don't know why, I just felt like changing it. I hope those who follow the story still enjoy it with the gaps between chapters.**_  
 _ **Thanks for the amazing feedback!**_

* * *

The next couple hours until lunch were not the most fun for either. The booth lacked customers, and Judy ended up reading the newspaper, which didn't have interesting stories for that day. Meanwhile Nick was helping with building a shed. It was almost ready when they got back with Charlie, but he still got the chance to hammer a few nails in their place on the wooden planks fixed on the sides of the small building. They also asked for his help with applying a protective coat on the taller parts of it, after which, it was finished. Then came the part where they would put everything back where it belonged and clean up. The bunnies wanted to make it quick, so they left the easiest job for Nick; organizing the nails in a case. Sure, he didn't know where any of the appliances belonged, and didn't want to get again as dirty as he saw some rabbits get, but putting small nails in small boxes was the most boring job out of all.

On the bright side, Judy's brothers, cousins, and brother-in-laws were mostly good to hang around. Even on their way back to the home, they talked a lot with Nick, and he didn't mind. They shared some ridiculous working experiences, and of course, Nick's were standing ahead of each. Annoying customers and fake phone calls were nothing new to him, and those couldn't compare to the terrible cover stories and weird cases he had at work. And the rabbits were all keen on hearing the dirty little secrets of the ZPD officers.

"Wait, that's the same Chief Bogo who almost fired Judy on her first week?"

"Yup," Nick smirked, "The one and only."

"That guy draws Gazelle art?" One of Judy's cousins asked. "I saw a picture, he didn't look like the type…"

"He likes to keep it a secret," Nick commented, "Like the fact that he never misses a concert."

"Oh yeah, Judy said something about running into her boss last year," someone laughed.

"Now, that was fun," Nick raised a finger and continued, "I got premium on my first week at work just not to tell anyone about his dance moves."

And the stories came after another, until they reached the burrow, where some bunnies were sitting at the benches. Nick quickly saw Judy, who sat at the edge of the nearest spot and was eagerly showing something to the others on her mobile.

"We should have a beer sometime," a bunny winked at Nick as they parted ways.

Nick blinked and shrugged, "Alright, sure." Then he walked to the door like everyone else did and looked back to check for Judy. She slowly approached with the group she was talking with a moment ago.

"Had fun?" she greeted.

"Eh, it wasn't that bad," Nick looked down and answered her.

"Did you make friends?" Judy moved closer.

"You sound like my mom on the first day of school," Nick grinned.

"I saw you guys laughing, I thought you might got along after all."

"Yeah, they're fine," Nick assured. "You were right, I survived. Just don't make me do this again tomorrow."

Judy rolled her eyes to drive her gaze away from Nick's smug expression. "Are you tired?"

"No, not really," he said, "But I could eat."

"What do you want to do after that?" Judy asked again, like she was trying to imply something.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "I don't know what to do here."

"Well," she cleared her throat, "If you don't mind, I thought we could check out the fair."

"Okay," Nick agreed, "I need to win that pie eating contest anyway."

"That's tomorrow," Judy corrected him. They were slowly arriving to the dining hall's floor. "And you're not gonna win it."

"Then who will? You?" he asked with as much cynicism as he could manage.

"I already told you. I'm a champion in pie eating," she shook her ears, not caring about Nick's comment.

"You're half my size."

"And?"

"And?" he huffed, "You may eat like a horse, but there's no way a bunny can eat more than a fox in one sitting," he explained.

"Just wait and see," Judy shrugged it off and looked for empty seats. "Oh, do you have your food?"

"I'll go get it." Then Nick took a turn in the kitchen's direction, where he stacked up the food he and Judy bought the previous day. It was mostly pre-made canned food, with the exception of grasshopper chips and some candy bars. He grabbed the large package of mini pizza rolls and put them in the microwave.

Rabbits ran in and out, taking and leaving drinks and napkins, but most of them just threw a 'Hi' at Nick, so he didn't have to take part in long conversations. He impatiently looked at the clock on his phone for the second time when an unfamiliar voice hit his ears. It made him jump as he turned.

"Oh, you must be Nick, our predator friend," the short rabbit exclaimed loudly, "It is truly fascinating to meet you."

"Ugh, hello…" he was cut off when the stranger grabbed his paw with both of his and started violently shaking it. Nick was too surprised to react anything else.

"Judy told me I'd find you here. We can discuss all your favorite meals. Please, simply call me Carl," he introduced himself in a hurry.

 _So this must be the chef bunny_. Nick awkwardly looked at him. Once again, he seemed way too friendly. The rabbit was roughly the age of Judy's parents, his fur was a darker brown, and despite working with food, he looked strangely skinny.

"Nick," he gave a small wave.

"What are you making there?," Carl pointed at the microwave oven.

"It's just…pizza rolls."

"Oh my sweet _toque blanche_ ," he clapped his paws, "It's worse than what I was prepared for. Worry not, I'll cook something quickly."

"Oh, no, thanks but…I'm fine. I actually like this," he pointed at the now ready pizzas as he reached for the open button.

"But how?" the bunny asked in agony. "With the absolute culinary variety nature offered to predators, why would you choose to eat like this?"

"Ugh, it's delicious," Nick shrugged and stepped toward a tower of plates.

"Oh please," Carl shook his head. "After you've tasted my cooking, you'll never look back to these tasteless frozen nightmares. Now tell me, what is your favorite?" His eyes shone as he was already thinking about predator meals to prepare.

"Seriously, you don't have to cook for me, I'm fine like this," Nick tried to remain as polite as he could get. "Judy made me buy some salmon, maybe some other day you-"

"Oh salmon! That is a mighty good choice," his ears shot in the air in joy, "I can make an excellent rice of it, or pastries, maybe a grill plate. Oh, the sauces I can serve with it! And it goes perfect with ants, I bet you didn't know that. Most mammals don't like ants, but with salmon…hmmm, it's a great combination."

"That sounds interesting," Nick nodded at Carl's loud thinking.

"I need to go buy the best spices. Tell me, do you like sweet chili sauce?"

"I'm…not sure," Nick shrugged and placed his pizza rolls on a plate, eyes fixed on Carl whose ears were strangely twitching.

The bunny held up a finger and started searching in his jacket pockets. Finally he picked out a small bottle and held it high.

"This is my famous sweet chili sauce," he pointed up, "You can buy it in my restaurant, but I want you to have a taste." With that, he shoved the bottle in Nick's paws and smiled widely. "Be careful. It's strong. But you can roll your tiny rolls in it," he gave the heated pizza rolls a disgusted look after he finished talking.

"Thank you," Nick mumbled, staring at the energetic rabbit.

"I believe it's time to hurry back. It was a pleasure, meeting you. I can't wait to cook your special order!" Carl hopped out before Nick could've said anything. He just mouthed a 'Wow' to himself.

Plate in one paw and chili sauce in the other, he found Judy at a large table near the wall. There were another six bunnies, some of them seemed familiar, but he didn't remember names. Judy saved a spot for him next to her.

"I met the guy you sent after me," Nick blinked at her as he sat down.

Judy swallowed her food and looked at him. "Uncle Carl?"

"Yeah. He scared the hell out of me…"

"Don't worry. He's harmless, just obsessed with predators," a younger boy flicked his wrist and continued eating.

"I can see that," Nick mumbled and turned the chili bottle to read what's on the back.

"Why, what did he do?" Judy asked, almost worried.

"Nothing, he's just…" Nick twitched his nose, "weird."

"You really can't blame him." Everyone's eyes turned to a girl with bright white spots on her fur. "He's a chef, and predators are much more interesting from that perspective."

"Why is that?" Nick asked her.

"Well, you know, more types of food. And he seldom gets to cook them," she shrugged. "I'm Stephanie, by the way."

"Nick," he nodded. He reached for a fork and a knife and pushed around his pizza rolls on the white plate.

"Did you tell him what to cook for you?" Judy asked.

"Erg, not really," he grinned. "He wanted to cook something now, so I just stopped him with that, but after that…he just decided what he'll make, I guess, and ran off."

"He's a great cook, I'm sure you'll like it," she smiled at him.

"Oh, and I'm sure you will too," Nick shook his head at Judy. He finally started eating too, stuffing a roll in the sauce Carl gave him. "Oh my God…"

"What is it?"

"This sauce is incredible," Nick said, still chewing on the pizza roll.

"That's Uncle Carl's chili sauce?" Judy asked.

"Yeah, he gave it to me."

"Give me some," she pushed her plate full of small carrots and rice closer. "How did you get that?"

"He just gave it to me from his jacket."

Judy grabbed the tiny bottle and carefully poured some next to her food, then passed it back.

"You're already his favorite," a bunny chucked.

"What?"

"He doesn't make too much of this," Judy pointed at the bottle. "No one knows why, but sometimes he just hands out small jugs."

"So he really is that excited about getting to cook for me?" Nick stared down to his right.

"Of course," Judy hummed, "Is that hard to believe? It just like when you get excited about a drug bust," she laughed.

"That's because I get to carry one of those cool guns," he pointed out and took another pizza roll. He let out another groan as he tasted the home made sauce once again. Judy rarely heard that from him, and mostly just when they were eating desserts. "I'm never buying tubed chili sauce ever again, Carrots. This is-"

Judy cut him off with a cough.

"Wha- Oh right," he pulled his mouth. "How much does this cost?"

"Around 20 dollars," Judy shrugged and chewed on a big cauliflower.

"What, for this small thing?" He tried to stuff the bottle between two of his fingers, and he failed to do so by only an inch.

"Don't worry. He'll give you a family discount!" A boy with strangely shaped glasses nudged Nick on the side with a laugh. The fox gasped and stared at his other side.

"Maybe a family friend discount," he rocked his torso uncomfortably.

"No. No," Judy shook her head and looked back and forth between Nick and her brother. "Come on, you're family to me," she whispered almost inaudibly.

"Don't you think that's a little early to…include me as family?" he asked Judy, who noticed his paw signals below the table.

"But, you are…ugh…," she tried remembering what the signs meant. A few months ago Nick tried explaining them to her. She actually remembered his signs for 'He has a gun' and 'All clear', but the rest being way too complicated and seemingly unnecessary, she forgot them in a week's time. "I'm gonna go see if there's any ice cream left." Judy moved her head and eyes to indicate the direction for Nick.

"Me too," Nick added in a questioning tone, and after the bunny nodded he stood up in sync with her.

They walked over to the dessert table, then Judy took a turn to the kitchen, where she quickly opened a door and jumped in. The room was long and narrow, with a few light bulbs hanging from the ceiling.

"Carrots? Why are we in a pantry?" Nick looked around.

"Because I don't understand those stupid paw signals and you need to tell me what you wanted to say," Judy whispered.

"Okay, so," Nick popped his lips and semi-frowned, "I'm not family. Don't make anyone think that."

"Why? I mean," she groaned, "You are part of my family. And they think we're dating on top of that!"

"How am I part of your family?" he asked in genuine confusion.

"Well, you're my best friend!" Judy didn't understand how that wasn't obvious for him.

"Right. Friend." Nick already opened his mouth to finish the sentence, before realizing that Judy must've really took family loosely. She always said the ZPD's like a big, dysfunctional family, but he never considered she was truly serious. "But you know…if you tell them I'm family, and they think we're dating, they'll probably think we're secretly engaged or something."

"And does that bother you so much?" Judy folded her arms. "It's just this week, nothing major would happen in this time."

"Judy, think!" Nick clapped his paws together. "If you let them believe that and we 'break up' after we leave, they'll think I broke your heart or something and hate me. That's bad for you too." Judy hissed. Nick was just paranoid, but he had a point.

"They won't hate you. If it comes up, I'll them it didn't work out and we're still good friends." She huffed and studied Nick's expression, trying to read him. "You know, it's nice to see that you care."

"Huh, about what?"

"About them liking you," she smiled.

"I don't care if they like me." He scoffed and tried to hide a smirk. "But just so you know, I think some of them do."

"Oh, the ones that were 'fine'?" Judy folded her arms.

"They invited me to have a drink with them," he said. She lightly hit his arm.

"So you did make friends!"

"Friends? I don't think so…" Nick gritted his teeth. "Brothers usually just want to punch me. Drinking actually sounds fun, for a change."

"Just don't get drunk!" Judy reminded him. "Before I forget, we'll need to revisit our list."

"I did great. I didn't even complain," he pulled his ears up, "You should give me bonus points for that, by the way."

"I don't have a point system," she laughed. "I just wanted to talk about it. And some other stuff. Later."

Nick hummed. When Judy wanted to discuss something, it usually took a turn after the 20 minute mark, and she ended up talking about a hundred different topics. "What other stuff?"

"Well," she began, "Don't you think we should make a plan? We never really talked about how we should execute this whole thing, and I'm a little anxious about some guys getting a clue."

"That's a good idea, actually. I have a list of problems with you."

"What?!" She jumped.

"Actually it's just one thing, but your face is funny when you get offended," he smirked and leaned onto a box.

"I'm listening…" She didn't expect Nick to actually come up with things she did too bad.

"Given that this is your family, you need to take the lead, because you're the one who knows them."

"What do you even mean by that?"

"I want to help you, but you have to tell me what will help," he explained. "I can only guess what's okay and what's not, and even though it worked so far, you need to pay a little more attention. Just try to do what you did with any other guy you brought home, and I can join in from there. Then the cover won't be blown."

The bunny pressed her lips together. She really needed to focus more. Judy would have hated to admit it, but she wasn't at all too experienced with introducing boys to her family. She figured it would be fine. She met plenty of boyfriends and girlfriends while she lived at home.

"Okay," she sighed, "I'm leading. Anything else?"

"It's weird for me too, but you actually seem less affectionate since we arrived here," Nick pointed out.

"You think so?" She noticed that too. Couldn't explain it, but definitely noticed it. And it bothered her a lot.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Where are the chokings you call welcome hugs?" He asked and bumped a fist into the air.

"I…it just…feels strange?" she guessed from herself.

"Let me tell you, it feels a lot more than just strange."

"No, it's," she was heavily thinking, "It's strange for me because you're my best friend, and it's hard to look at you any differently."

"Yeah, well here's what I do with that," he swallowed, "Remember that team building training we had last fall?"

"Yes?"

"There was that improv stage-"

"Where we never acted out anything like this," she leaned forward with a finger raised, her other arm put behind her back. It was true.

"Point is, we could have." Nick pushed down her finger. Judy was looking blandly at him to say something else. "Oh, or think about going undercover on a case. That could happen any time! We need to be convincing for the bad guys."

"Right. How about we continue this later, and now get some ice cream?" Judy chuckled.

"Fine by me," Nick opened the door next to them. "Just hold my paw or something."

"Alright-y." She clapped her paw into Nick's.

They exited the pantry, slowly and carefully looking around. No one was nearby, so they quickly stepped back into the hall and walked to the tables with ice cream on them. As Judy expected, there was a line, or more like a crowd of children waiting.

"You know what else you could think of?" Nick snickered. "Were you a theater kid? You must have been, with the performance on that talent show."

"Joke's on you, I was for two years," Judy flicked her ears and looked up at him. "Thanks for all the tips, but I can do this my own way."

Nick raised his paws as if defending himself. "Not gonna stop you."

When they finally got through the small bunnies jumping around the ice cream bowls, Judy quickly started scooping from each, filling a big plate with ice cream and chocolate sprinkles. Nick, knowing he still had some food left back at the table, only took a few scoops and turned back to search for the place where they sat. Looking away, he held out his right paw for Judy but she didn't even look. She already began eating her dessert.

"Judy, come on," Nick looked down and shook his wrist in the air.

"This is delicious! Did you get chocolate?" She smiled with puffy cheeks.

Nick lifted the cup he took and looked at it. "Yeah, I did. Could we go back?"

"Of course," she nodded, stuffed her spoon between the mountains of ice cream, and took Nick's paw.

Judy wished holding paws was enough shown affection, because she was really comfortable with that. She spied the hall for couples sitting next to each other. Her sister, Stephanie was at their table with her husband, but they didn't do anything special. Sometimes Nate would touch her belly, but that would be weird if she wasn't pregnant. Then she spotted some guys leaning very close to each other, others hugging at the table, some kissing. Looked cute, for sure, but Judy just found eating with your arms around each other highly impractical. She decided she'd give it a try anyway.

The bunnies at the table were all talking with each other, so Nick and Judy just sat down and listened to them. Neither was eager to join in the conversations. Judy looked around, stretched her ears a bit, and leaned on Nick's arm – what she thought looked more natural than it actually did. With wide eyes and a small sigh Nick pulled his arm and put it over her back, trying to help the situation, but remaining about as tense as Judy was. For the next few minutes they both moved around, trying to find a position that wasn't agonizingly uncomfortable. Fortunately, no one seemed to notice the short struggle.

"Are you guys all walking to the field or can someone give me a ride?" a girl asked from across the table.

"We're taking Cassie too, you can hop in," Steph smiled at her sister. "Anyone else? Judy?"

She twisted her head to look at Nick, then back again. "We're fine walking," she shrugged.

"Okay then," Nate nodded and helped Stephanie to stand up. "See you there." The three bunnies leaving waved to the table and walked away.

"You finished?" Judy asked Nick.

"Yeah, we can go too."

She pushed herself to a straight sitting position and jumped from her seat. Nick stood up with a turn and followed Judy, who pulled him in a fast pace.

"I want to change first," she told him.

He stared down at the stains and tear on his shirt. "I guess I should do that too." He studied Judy's blouse and jeans. They seemed clean to him, and curiosity took over. "Why are _you_ changing?"

"Oh, I…felt a little underdressed yesterday," she explained. "I'll go in a dress."

"How can you be underdressed on a farm?"

"Not the farm," she scoffed, "The barn party at night."

"Barn party doesn't sound like a place that has a dress code." Nick scrolled through his messages and occasionally looked at Judy, who led the way.

"There isn't any. I'd just feel more comfortable."

"I guess I should dress up too?" he asked with an unenthusiastic sigh.

"Not too much. Just if you want to," Judy assured. "I'm taking that as you're staying tonight."

"Of course. I'll give it a try." It was obvious for him that it wouldn't compare to a real club in Zootopia, but it was his best choice, and it actually didn't sound that bad.

"Will you dance with me?" Judy asked, melodizing her voice in a way that was unusual coming from her.

"Are you trying to flirt with me?" he raised an eyebrow.

"No," she smirked, "I just like dancing together."

"That will most likely never happen if I don't get to drink first."

"Stop it, you love dancing," Judy grunted.

"I don't," Nick huffed back, "Why'd you accuse me with that?"

"You dance all the time!"

"If you mean arrest victory dance-"

"That's exactly what I mean," she agreed.

"First off, that's not even a real dance," Nick held up a finger, "It's my badass cop walk. You need to imagine the punch and all in slow-mo. Second, I only do it if I knew the guy and I want to piss him off – that shouldn't be considered 'all the time'," he added.

"You dance at parties too, even when you're sober!" Judy quickly pointed out.

"I wouldn't think of that as dancing," he rolled his eyes.

"It's good enough," she shrugged, "Most of the boys here just nod and raise their paws at times."

"Right. I was just worried you'd want to reenact the Dirty Dancing finale or something like that."

"That would be great," Judy gasped as her ears shot as high as they could. Looks like she got an idea just as bright as she got last Halloween.

"Don't you dare."

"I do your paperwork for 3 days if you lift me up like that once," she said.

"Make it a week," Nick joined the bargain.

"Then it's two lifts," Judy held up to fingers and grinned, "And you pay me a drink."

"Oh so _you_ can drink?"

"I hold my liquor better than you. And I didn't say you couldn't drink, I just don't want you to tell anyone about…you know," she whispered the last part, even though there was nothing to hear.

"Both lies," Nick said.

"No, they're not." Judy clicked her tongue. They were slowly arriving to the elevator. "One tequila shot and you tell all kinds of secrets to mammals."

"That's not true," he whined.

"Then explain Clawhauser's birthday."

"I hadn't eaten all day and I had way more than just one shot. Besides, telling him what everyone bought for him is not an important secret."

Judy bit on her tongue as they entered the cabin. "We get a small shot roulette together and you're paying?"

"Deal," Nick nodded. "But I hope you'll get all the non-alcoholic ones."

They arrived to the right floor in a matter of seconds.

"I'm ready in 5 minutes," Judy jumped into her room.

She put her mobile from her jeans pocket to a shelf, and opened her wardrobe. She didn't bring that many clothes, but she did pick a dress she bought for her cousin's anniversary party. It was blue and white, and had a thin layer of lace around the skirt part. After neatly folding her clothes, she jumped into the dress. To neaten up her image she put a bit of mascara on. After not finding a way to fit her phone, she grabbed a small purse and squeezed it next to her money. Judy was satisfied with herself, so she stepped out to the hallway.

Nick was waiting and pressing his phone. Apparently he only changed his shirt to a darker one and brushed over his fur, in what there were still a few sticky knots.

"Where's that nice jacket?" Judy asked.

"It's too hot out there," Nick looked up. "New dress?"

"Nope," she shook her head. "But it'll do."

They walked on the corridor paw in paw, with occasional stops from Judy to say hello to some relatives. Once they were outside, she realized just how hot it was. All she could think of was getting a cold lemonade at the Carrot Days and finding an activity in a tent. Nick's phone buzzed in his pocket. He lifted it out, and with the very same movement, he put it back.

"You can answer that," Judy encouraged. She thought maybe he took her request on not overusing his mobile too seriously. She didn't realize on the spot how unlikely that was.

"Just a notification," Nick shook his head.

"Did you talk with Finnick last night?" He said he would.

"I did," Nick answered. "Now that you remind me, I should probably call him if he's alright."

"What did he do this time?" Judy rarely met Finnick. She heard a lot about him, or at least some. She knew he was a little disappointed when Nick left for the academy, but she also knew that wasn't enough reason to vanish from his life. They still met up a lot, and Nick got themselves out of a lot of trouble – that he almost always told Judy about.

"He hanged up on me and said something about the cops coming," he shrugged like it was only casual. "Lucky bastard got a VIP ticket to the Globe."

"The what?"

"The Globe," he repeated.

"Is that like a club?" she asked nonchalantly.

"You've been living there for, what, two years now, and you haven't heard of the Globe?" Nick let out a giggling sigh. Sure, Judy didn't know as many places as he did, especially when it came to clubs and bars. When he realized that the bunny was not going to answer, he continued, "It's near the harbor. The place itself is not that big of a deal, but the VIP floors are amazing."

"That means?" Judy was more interested in this club now.

"Huge globe with glass walls. Full panorama on the city, and good shows," he explained.

"That sounds cool. We should go there sometime." She's only ever been to some of the cheaper places, and she never got what was so great about them. Now, this place sounded nice. Judy recalled she saw it once, but she didn't know it was a nightspot.

"It's not that easy, Cottontail," Nick chuckled. "You need to have the right friends to get a ticket there."

"Well, I know Finnick," she shrugged. They weren't exactly friends, but she knew enough about him to make him get her a ticket. At least she thought so.

"Good luck with that."

Judy pulled her nose, for she didn't know how to take what she heard. Nick continued looking around with a smirk on his face. "Oh no, he didn't!"

"Come again?"

"Finnick forged a ticket?" It sounded almost like a statement.

"No, he didn't." He stopped at that and said no more.

"Nick, it's illegal."

"He didn't make it. He got it from a guy."

" _Owning_ a fake ticket is illegal too," Judy stomped.

"I know that," Nick scoffed. "We went to the same academy, in case you forgot."

Judy rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you don't do things like that anymore."

"Of course I don't," he said. "I don't want to get fired."

Judy only half-believed that. Nick had a special tactic to find loopholes in every law. Most of the petty things he did occasionally were considered perfectly legal in his eyes. And no one said anything about it.

"Doesn't it feel weird around Fin?"

"It's not like a want to arrest him," he snickered. "Besides, he's not a criminal mastermind. Buying fake tickets is probably the worst he'll do on his own."

"Good to hear. I wouldn't want to arrest him either." She lightly shivered at the thought of angry Finnick. "But I wanted to ask…you really don't miss it?" This question crossed her mind a couple of times, when Nick acted out, and she actually asked similar things before.

"What? Being a conman?" Nick hummed when Judy gave a small nod. He needed to think on that question. "Nah, not really."

"You go out with Finnick a lot," she pointed out, more matter-of-factly than offended.

"He's my friend too, you know," he said.

"You know what I mean," Judy pushed him. "If he's still hustling without you, don't you feel…tempted?"

"We did a bunch of other stuff together. We still do," he added. "Hustling wasn't the most fun of them all."

Judy knew from the look on his face that she shouldn't ask him about those. She just nodded and hummed. "Pie?" she asked as they approached the entrance, and Gideon Grey's stand as well.

"Hmm, maybe later."

Nick looked around the field. It didn't look like the day before. One side was filled with small stands, much like the pie cart. At the other end, he spotted games and tents that might as well had similar activities inside. There were two big barns. One, where they watched the show last afternoon, and another, a bit further away, where Judy visited last night.

"So, what do you want to check out first?" Judy looked around excitedly as well. Before Nick got to say something, she answered her own question. "Oh, let's win a prize at the shooting range!"

"Alright," Nick snorted. He was looking forward to try that.

The line seemed awfully long, but Judy managed to entertain both of them by telling Nick about the more notorious folks around the Burrows, at least those who she spotted. He was surprised how mammals around there weren't as boring as he imagined. It started with Judy's siblings, but the townspeople were the icing on the cake, from the ram with the truck-sized distillation tank in his cellar, to the old donkey who relived his youth with extreme sports.

The ones who tried hitting the target before them were more or less successful, at which Nick gained even more confidence than he already had. He came in right below Judy, who was surprisingly one of the best shooters at the station. The small airsoft pistols here couldn't weight as much and be so accurate as the guns they practiced with at the police, but judging the distance and size of the bullseyes there was nothing to worry about.

The bunny operating the game was one of Judy's old schoolmates. _Of course he was_ , Nick thought. They quickly chatted about how long it's been, isn't the weather nice, and oh, yes that's her partner.

The objective was to hit three of the moving targets to win a prize, 2 dollars for three shots. Judy went first. She finished quickly, perfect score on the first try, and picked a mug with the Carrot Days logo on it.

"What?" She answered to Nick's questioning expression. "You can never have enough mugs!"

He mumbled something and gave two dollars to the operator. He aimed at the first target. Hit. The second one swung to the sides a little faster. Slightly off, still a hit. Third one. Miss.

"You got to be kidding me," he huffed and let his arm fall.

"Try again, mate?" The bunny asked.

Seeing Judy's small nod, Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out another bill from his wallet. He hit the first target easily, then hesitated a bit at the second. Or maybe more.

"No need to hurry," Judy giggled.

"Shut up," he said, looking away from the aiming. Looking back, he followed the target and shot, than with a quick pull, he hit the last one too.

"Nice," Judy hummed.

"Nice?" Nick put the airsoft down and stepped aside. "Did you not see how fast those last two were?"

"Very impressive," she said.

 _Very impressive_ just wasn't enough. After picking up a carrot pen from along the prizes – just for the sake of having matching things, as Nick explained –, they ended up agreeing that maybe they are both brilliant shots.

The next stop was lemonade, right behind the stand they just left.

"I can't believe I'm spending all my money here," Nick murmured and stirred the drink in the plastic cup.

Judy slurped silently and read a flier with the programs listed on it.

"I want to try the maze," she pointed at the paper with the cup still in her paw, "and the wall climbing, the race, this dance show sounds cool…"

"I hoped you'd go with apple bobbing," Nick pointed to a different bracket.

"Then what do you want to do?" Judy sighed and held the paper closer to him.

Nick looked at it for a while, read it over thoroughly. "Yeah, the ones you said are probably the best options."

"See?" she huffed. "If it stays so hot all week we could go down to the lake." She fanned herself with the folded flier.

"Now that's a good idea," Nick agreed. "I didn't bring swimming pants though."

"We can borrow you some."

One of Judy's virtues was that she could find very practical solutions for simple problems, and one of Nick's vices was turning them down for small dumb reasons.

"Unused bunny shorts are still bunny shorts," he argued with Judy's idea of taking pants from the family's room full of 'never worn and forgotten' clothes.

"It's better than nothing."

"I've never been skinny dipping before," he smirked. "And judging by your face, I won't be trying it here."

Judy's other option was buying a pair for him at the store, which seemed reasonable, but he was waiting for better offers.

Coming to the sad realization that she changed into a dress, Judy left the sport-activity side of the field alone. The maze was good. However, they didn't take it too seriously at the beginning and kept talking about other things, so they got out almost an hour later. It was indeed much bigger than it seemed, and filled with so called traps that didn't allow them to turn back and they had to choose another way. Judy got annoyed at a point and tried jumping over the walls, then onto Nick's shoulders to see where they were. They found the good direction that way.

Walking around after they exited, they stumbled upon a small gallery of artworks by local artists. Just like before, Judy told small anecdotes about everyone she knew from the exhibitors, and Nick struggled to try remembering at least some parts of it. Then, when they got to the really abstract pictures, they just quietly laughed at their own ways of guessing what's on it.

Time passed. Judy was still excited to try some of the games, and she ended up winning a stuffed carrot with huge eyes, which was later carried home by an unlucky relative who she ran into.

It was somewhat bright, but the sun slowly moved down. They opened the barn where the disco was about to begin, and Nick and Judy mingled with the crowd. Music was playing softly. Some were already dancing in the lit up barn. It didn't seem like much from the outside, but once they got in Nick's jaw dropped. He expected a country band and maybe some hay stacks and canned beers, but no. This place looked like a real club. Sure smaller, and the decorations were not as harsh, but it was quite modern, with a long bar and tall rounded tables at the walls. All around the place, tiny lampions and lights were hanged, but of course the real light came from huge reflectors at the top.

"I like this song," Judy started nodding her head as they walked further inside and heard the music better.

"Don't you like all?" Nick didn't dodge the elbow he saw coming his way. He was looking up and discovering the place. The atmosphere was just like in a house-party. _Not bad. Not bad at all_. "Drinks?"

Judy's ears leaning to the right was enough of a reply. Lots of drinks were listed, which was surprising, given that the menu didn't contain fancy ones.

"One beer, please," Nick ordered when they got to the bar, "And apple cider for the lady."

Judy looked at him with a smirk that unwillingly turned into a smile. "Ordering for me? How romantic," she joked.

"You're paying for it." He moved his arms from behind his back to lean against the counter.

"Now who's bossy?"

"Oh please, you always order beer, and whine because you don't like it," he rolled his eyes and reached for their drinks.

Judy raised a finger, "I'm trying to get to like it."

"Look who's here." She turned from Nick to her sister approaching. "Nice dress."

"Susie!" Judy hugged her. "Susie, this is Nick."

"Oh hello!" The shorter bunny waved at him. "You guys wanna join us? I'm just here for a straw."

"Sure," Nick reacted to Judy's questioning look.

"How's Eric?"

Susie clicked her tongue and smiled. "Anxious, I suppose. Most guys are, when they want to propose," she whispered.

"Sweet cheese and crackers!" Judy almost jumped.

"Now?" Nick really didn't want to be there at some strangers' proposal. It would be awkward.

"I found the ring in his bag."

"Oh, were you searching for it?" Judy asked teasingly.

"He's not too good at hiding stuff," Susie laughed. Nick tried to ignore the subtle wink she gave him.

She led them to a small circle next to a pillar that stood around the middle of the barn. Nick already knew some of the bunnies there, which was a good sign.

"Hey-," Judy greeted loudly before she was hushed.

"Whoa, stop right there," Tessa held out her paw to indicate them to do so. She kept looking above them.

"What?" Judy huffed.

"I guess she wanted to say," a boy pointed at the decoration hanging above Judy.

She looked up and rolled her eyes. "You're so childish."

"Would you just stomp on old traditions for that reason?" Tessa gasped.

"We just got here," Judy shook her head smiling. Nick still had no idea what was going on, although he had a bad feeling about it.

"Fine, let's speed it up," Tessa grabbed Nick's free arm. "Judy's here everyone, and this is Nick. Say hello please," she looked back and forth between the two sides of the semi-circle. The rabbits waved and obliged, Judy face palmed, Nick mumbled 'hello', then Tessa continued. "They're gonna kiss now."

Nick's eyes widened, he looked around fast then turned to Judy, "How did that escalate?"

"It's…" Judy sighed and pointed up, "It's carrot greens, you have to kiss under it."

"No, that's with mistletoe," he said slowly.

"Not on Carrot Days," she looked down. "Okay, know what?" She waited for no answer, she hopped lightly and kissed Nick's cheek.

"Hurr hurr, not good enough."

"Tess, they don't feel like kissing, no biggie," another new face frowned.

"Oh no, she's right," the boy who spoke before said again. "It's rules first." Most of the group seemed to agree, judging by the nods and murmurs.

 _This can't be happening to me_ , Judy sighed.

 _Never too late to walk away_ , Nick thought.

"Come on, kiss!" Jackie, the bunny he met yesterday practically yelled at them with a smile.

This led to the others quietly chanting. Judy shivered. She looked at Nick.

 _They won't drop it, will they?_

 _I don't even know these mammals._

 _Gosh, are others staring?_

 _We could ignore them…_

 _I can't believe this._

 _Nah, that wouldn't work._

 _Okay…_

 _But this is…_

 _Just a small one._

 _Maybe if we-_

Judy pulled Nick closer, and with eyes pressed close, she kissed him.

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_ _ **and sorry again**_ _ **:)**_


End file.
